Powell River Energy export moved to licensing

Summary#

This Order directs that Powell River Energy Inc.’s electricity export application filed on August 15, 2025 be handled under the Canadian Energy Regulator Act’s licensing route rather than its permitting route. That means the Canada Energy Regulator’s commission will use a fuller review process — potentially including a public hearing — to decide whether and on what terms to allow the export.

What it does#

• The Order (made by the Governor in Council on February 26, 2026) moves the application into the CER’s licensing process instead of the simpler permitting process.
• That licensing process gives the Commission of the Canada Energy Regulator more options:
  • it can hold a public hearing;
  • it can seek information from parties other than the applicant;
  • it can impose terms and conditions on any authorization (subject to further approval);
  • and it can refuse the application after its assessment.
• The application seeks permission to export up to 700,000 megawatt‑hours (MWh) per year for a 30‑year term, using power from two facilities in British Columbia.

Who's affected#

• Powell River Energy Inc. (the applicant) and its parent Brookfield Renewable.
• The U.S. buyer named in the filing, BR Pacific Hydro Power LLC.
• Local and provincial electricity buyers and utilities, including BC Hydro, which has filed objections.
• The Tla’amin Nation, which also submitted concerns.
• Residents and businesses in areas served by the two generating facilities in Powell River and Lois Lake, who raised submissions.
• The Canada Energy Regulator and its Commission, which will run the licensing review.
• If unclear: the broader public of electricity consumers in the region may be affected if exports change local supply or market access; the document does not say precisely which customers would be prevented from buying the power.

Why it matters#

• The change means a more thorough, public review of an application that would let a private company export essentially all output from two local facilities for 30 years. That raised strong public interest: the CER received about 2,500 written submissions, most opposing the plan.
• A licensing process lets the regulator protect Canadian buyers’ access to electricity and consider fairness and local impacts more fully. Opponents say the exports and long term requested could limit domestic supply or preferable market access for Canadian utilities.
• The decision does not involve new construction, so no new environmental impacts are expected from the order itself.