Our progress towards a lower-carbon energy future
We are committed to addressing climate change and taking a leading role in the energy transition for our customers and the communities we serve. Guided by our Clean Growth Pathway, we’re reducing the use of fossil fuels and overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to support provincial climate action goals by investing in renewable and low-carbon energy.1
Record investments in energy-efficiency programs
Between 2023-2027, we are investing a record $694.8 million to help customers reduce their energy use over the next four years, a key pillar in our goal to help lead the transition to a lower-carbon energy future.
We are investing $626.7 million to help our gas customers lower their energy use and $68.1 million on energy-saving programs for our electricity customers in B.C.’s Southern Interior.
Read the full list of energy conservation programs and rebates.
In 2023, we made record investments in energy-efficiency programs, with $124.2 million going into gas programs and $11.7 million into electricity programs. This helped our customers make their homes and businesses more energy efficient. We also piloted exciting new technologies like dual fuel heating systems, gas heat pumps and deep energy retrofits.
Thanks to these investments, annual gas energy savings of more than 1.4 million gigajoules were achieved, which is like taking 31,600 gasoline-powered cars off the road for a year.3
Learn more about the ways we can help you conserve energy and reduce costs and GHG emissions.
Most of the buildings we see today will still be around in 2050. To meet our Clean Growth Pathway goals for reducing GHG emissions, we need to focus on making these existing buildings more energy efficient.
That’s why we’re excited about our deep energy retrofit pilot. It introduces innovative practices and technologies for building envelopes and mechanical systems, aiming to cut energy use in buildings by at least 50 per cent.
Deep energy retrofits take a comprehensive, whole-building approach to energy conservation. It’s one of the many ways we’re committed to reducing energy use and overall GHG emissions.
Learn more about our pilot programs and sign up to be notified of future opportunities.
Avoiding GHG emissions with the use of RNG
Our supply of Renewable Natural Gas2 (RNG) helped customers avoid nearly 265,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) in 2023–that’s like taking more than 57,000 gasoline-powered cars off the road.4
When organic waste decomposes, it releases a biogas mostly made of methane. That biogas is captured and cleaned to create RNG.
Derived from organic sources, RNG is a low carbon5 direct substitute for conventional natural gas. It uses existing carbon already within the ecosystem, which means the gas itself does not add net new carbon to the atmosphere.
Increasing the amount of RNG in our system contributes to the province’s CleanBC Roadmap to 2030 and we’re always looking to partner with organizations and governments to increase our RNG supply.
In 2023, we acquired 2.8 petajoules (PJ) of RNG for our customers—a year’s worth of energy for more than 27,000 homes6—and we have contracts to acquire 18 PJ over the next few years.
As of July 1, 2024, FortisBC gas customers have one per cent of their gas designated as RNG, known as designated RNG blend. We are the first energy utility in North America to automatically designate RNG to its customers and it adds to our ongoing efforts to reduce overall GHG emissions.
Low-carbon transportation
We’re the first company in the world to offer a truck-to-ship onboard liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuelling system, developed specifically for our customers. In the marine industry, this is called bunkering.
In 2023, we had 1,711 LNG ship bunkering events and we’ve had more than 7,000 LNG bunkering events over several years. Our marine customers avoided a total of 40,200 tCO2e in 2023 by using LNG for marine fuelling7,8—that’s like taking more than 12,000 gasoline-powered cars off the road.9
Ships powered by traditional bunker fuel are a major source of GHG emissions globally. We are helping marine companies reduce their GHG emissions by fuelling their vessels with FortisBC’s LNG.10
Fuelling with LNG from Tilbury—instead of traditional marine fuels—could reduce life cycle GHG emissions by up to 27 per cent.11
Read more about how we’re helping reduce local and global emissions through advancing marine LNG.
The transportation sector makes up 41 per cent12 of GHG emissions in B.C., making it a high priority to reduce emissions in this area. In 2023, we continued to help companies reduce emissions by switching from diesel or gasoline to vehicles powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) and compressed RNG.
To date, we’ve switched more than 1,000 commercial vehicles in B.C. from diesel or gasoline to CNG, which reduces GHG emissions in these vehicles by up to 30 per cent.13
Learn more about the benefits of natural gas-fuelled vehicles.
Investing in hydrogen research
Through our Clean Growth Innovation Fund, we invest in innovative projects to help advance renewable and low-carbon gases, such as hydrogen. Between 2020 and 2024, we directed almost $5 million a year to support innovative energy projects, in partnerships with government and industry.
Learn more about some of the hydrogen projects the Clean Growth Innovation Fund has supported:
- new SFU-based Clean Hydrogen Hub to fuel clean energy research and innovation
- NGIF Accelerator allocates $150,000 in grant funding to Aurora Hydrogen for turquoise hydrogen production
- VulcanX and FortisBC sign deal to support new hydrogen technology
- The School of Engineering with the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus (UBCO)
Hydrogen gas holds exciting potential as a low-carbon energy as it emits no carbon dioxide when used for energy. Here are some ways we’re looking into producing hydrogen:
- Green hydrogen: hydrogen and oxygen atoms are separated from water through electrolysis powered by renewable electricity.
- Blue or turquoise hydrogen: hydrogen is derived from natural gas while carbon is separated and captured to be stored or used by other industries.
Charging with hydroelectricity
As more British Columbians drive electric vehicles (EV), we are seeing continued growth in usage of our EV charging stations across our electricity service area in the Southern Interior.
We’re proud to have increased from 1,692 charging events in 2019 to 18,032 in 2023. In May 2024, we reached 50,000 total charges across our network!
Learn more about our electric vehicle charging.
Our goal is to make sure EV drivers can travel with confidence across our electricity service area. We currently have 42 Direct Current Fast Charging stations at 22 sites in 20 communities across B.C.’s Southern Interior.
We’re improving our public charging stations, making our EV infrastructure more accessible and convenient. This helps encourage more people to choose low- and zero-emission14 vehicles and help reduce overall emissions.
To provide electricity to our customers in B.C.’s Southern Interior, we own and operate four hydroelectric generating plants on the Kootenay River supplying 1,609 gigawatt hours of energy a year. We also operate and maintain five generating plants owned by others.
To meet B.C.’s rising energy needs, we're aiming to add to our electricity energy supply with a focus on developing renewable and lower-carbon sources.
1FortisBC uses the term renewable and low-carbon gas to refer collectively to the low-carbon gases or fuels that the utility can acquire under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Clean Energy) Regulation, which are: Renewable Natural Gas (also called
RNG or biomethane), hydrogen, synthesis gas (from wood waste) and lignin. FortisBC’s renewable and low-carbon gas portfolio currently includes only Renewable Natural Gas. Other gases and fuels may be added to the program over time. Depending
on their source, all of these gases have differing levels of lifecycle carbon intensity. However, all of these gases are low carbon when compared to the lifecycle carbon intensity of conventional natural gas. The current burner tip emission factor
of RNG is 0.27 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per megajoule of energy (gCO2e/MJ) and the current renewable and low-carbon gas portfolio lifecycle emissions for stationary combustion are -22 gCO2e/MJ. This is below B.C.’s
low carbon threshold for lifecycle carbon intensity of 30.8 gCO2e/MJ as set out in the 2024 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Regulation amendments.
2Renewable Natural Gas (also called RNG or biomethane) is produced in a different manner than conventional natural gas. It is derived from biogas, which is produced from decomposing organic waste from landfills, agricultural waste
and wastewater from treatment facilities. The biogas is captured and cleaned to create RNG. When RNG is added to North America’s natural gas system, it mixes with conventional natural gas. This means we’re unable to direct RNG to a specific
customer. But the more RNG is added to the gas system, the less conventional natural gas is needed, thereby reducing the use of fossil fuels and overall greenhouse gas emissions.
3Calculated using the Natural Resources Canada greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator.
4Calculated using the Natural Resources Canada greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator.
5When compared to the lifecycle carbon intensity of conventional natural gas. The burner tip emission factor of FortisBC’s current Renewable Natural Gas (also called RNG or biomethane) portfolio is 0.27 grams of carbon dioxide
equivalent per megajoule of energy (gCO2e/MJ). FortisBC’s current RNG portfolio lifecycle emissions for stationary combustion are -22 gCO2e/MJ. This is below B.C.’s low carbon threshold for lifecycle carbon intensity
of 30.8 gCO2e/MJ as set out in the 2024 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Regulation amendments.
6Calculated using the Natural Resources Canada greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator.
7The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) methodology was used to calculate
avoided GHG emissions for 2022 and 2023 data. Values from previous years are reported using Global Warming Potential values aligned with the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) methodology.
8See Avoided GHG emissions
calculation methodology on page 62 of FortisBC 2023 Sustainability Report.
9Calculated using the Natural Resources Canada greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator.
10
Benefits of Tilbury LNG as a marine fuel.
11A lifecycle analysis funded by FortisBC and conducted by Sphera.
12Source: Pathways for British Columbia to achieve its GHG reduction goals; Guidehouse, 2020, p11.
13Source: Northwest Gas Association, Natural Gas Facts, page 15.
14Natural Resources Canada 2024.
“Types of zero-emission vehicles.”, Government of Canada. Accessed October 7, 2024.
The Government of Canada defines a zero-emission vehicle as one “that either produces no tailpipe emissions or has the potential to produce no emissions, for example, an electric vehicle.”