Current large-scale natural gas projects

To serve our growing numbers of residential and commercial natural gas customers, we continually invest in our system to add capacity and increase the functionality and reliability of our services.

Eagle Mountain - Woodfibre Gas Pipeline Project

The Eagle Mountain - Woodfibre Gas Pipeline project will expand the existing natural gas pipeline that runs between Coquitlam and Woodfibre, near Squamish.

The project involves adding 50 kilometres of new gas pipeline between Coquitlam and Squamish. This includes 47 kilometres of new 24-inch gas pipeline from north of Coquitlam to the Woodfibre LNG site, and an additional three kilometres of pipe near Westwood Plateau in north Coquitlam.

Tilbury LNG Facility Expansion

We’re planning to upgrade our Tilbury LNG storage facility in Delta, BC, to meet the growing demand for LNG as a lower-carbon fuel for in marine shipping and for use overseas.

Phase 1 includes additional liquefaction equipment and a gas line upgrade. A power line is also being considered. The proposed Phase 2 expansion project would include a new tank that could triple the site’s storage capacity and expanded liquefaction capacity. The Tilbury Jetty Limited Partnership is proposing a jetty that would make it easier for marine and international customers to access LNG from Tilbury.

Inland Gas Upgrades

We’re upgrading 29 sections of our existing natural gas lines located in the Northern, Thompson-Okanagan, Cariboo and Kootenay regions of BC. These upgrades will allow us to use modern inspection methods to monitor the line.

These Inland Gas Upgrades, combined with our ongoing inspection and maintenance activities, will make sure these lines continue to provide safe, reliable service for many years to come.

Okanagan Capacity Mitigation Project

We’re planning to increase our capacity for the coldest days of the year in the Okanagan by developing a new small-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and send-out facility next to an existing natural gas station on industrial zoned land owned by FortisBC in Kelowna. The Okanagan is one of the fastest-growing regions by population in British Columbia and based on forecasts of continued growth, there is a need to address customer demand before an expected shortfall of natural gas by the winter of 2026/27.

The proposed solution will help us meet customers’ peak energy demands in the region starting in the winter of 2026/27 by transporting LNG produced at our Tilbury facility in Delta, BC, to the new small-scale facility in Kelowna and injecting it into our distribution system on the coldest day(s) of the year. We filed our application for the Okanagan Capacity Mitigation Project with our regulator, the British Columbia Utilities Commission on July 30, 2024, and we are now awaiting their decision. If approved, construction is expected to begin in 2026.

Coastal Transmission System Upgrades

We’re planning work on our natural gas system at 24 locations in the Lower Mainland as part of our Coastal Transmission System Upgrades. The project will enhance our ability to monitor the condition of our gas lines by allowing us to use new, advanced in-line inspection tools. These gas lines have an excellent record for both safety and reliability.

On February 11, 2021, we filed a project application with our regulator, the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) and received approval in May 2022. The proposed work will build on our already robust inspection and maintenance activities, to make sure these lines continue to provide safe, reliable service to over 700,000 homes and businesses in the Lower Mainland. Work will take place in 2024-2025 and baseline inspections will continue until 2027.

Interior Transmission System Upgrades

We’re also planning work on our natural gas system at 15 locations throughout the interior of British Columbia as part of our Interior Transmission System Upgrades. Similar to the Coastal Transmission System Upgrades project, this work will further enhance the safety and reliability of the system we use to supply natural gas to more than 195,000 homes and businesses.

The work planned will enhance our ability to monitor the condition of our lines by allowing us to use new, advanced inspection tools. We will build on our already robust inspection and maintenance activities, increasing our safety standards so we can continue providing reliable service to customers for decades to come. We filed our regulatory application for this project with the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) in September 2022. If approved, the majority of project construction work will occur in 2025-2026 in preparation for the line inspections that will begin in 2026.