Our progress towards a lower carbon energy future

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.

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 lower 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.

Learn more about RNG.

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 January 1, 2025, FortisBC gas customers have two 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.

Learn more about designated RNG blend. 

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.

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

Hydrogen gas holds exciting potential as a lower 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.

Learn more about hydrogen gas and how it’s made.

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-emission¹⁵ vehicles and help reduce overall emissions.

Learn more and find our public EV charging stations.

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.

Learn more about our electricity facilities and operations.