FortisBC pitches Sooke council on keeping gas on tap in new builds

Build, and build responsibly. That’s the overall message the province is giving the community of just under 15K that’s projected to have 28K residents by 2045. A hard sell from Fortis, pressure to adopt the Zero Carbon Step Code and a deadline to respond to the province’s housing density mandate are all coming to a head for Sooke.

The province has directed all BC municipalities to scale-up their density zoning rules to allow for more multi-storey / multi-unit construction on what would otherwise be single-family lots—though so far Sooke has refused to adopt the changes.

Meanwhile, the provincial government also has programs looking to significantly curb greenhouse gas emissions in buildings. Clean BC’s aim is to lower climate-changing emissions by 40% by 2030. At the municipal level, adoption of Zero Carbon Step Code (ZCSC) can help the province achieve this goal, but only if they reject liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a primary energy source to heat space and water in new buildings.

That’s not the message FortisBC is brought to Sooke councillors or to the other municipalities in the CRD it has presented to, including Colwood and Oak Bay. Sunil Singal from the environmental organization Stand Earth told Capital Daily the Fortis tour “has been happening for the past year across BC, but in particular Vancouver Island, where many municipalities have accelerated the adoption of the ZCSC to the highest level this year.”

How the Step Code works

The BC government adopted the Zero Carbon Step Code as a regulation in 2017. Out of that regulation, the BC Energy Step Code sets mandatory energy-efficiency targets for new buildings, aiming to reach net-zero energy-ready standards by 2032. The Step Code was established by the province as a means of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the buildings sector. In 2018, it established a timeline for municipalities to adopt those regulations by 2032.

Municipalities can incorporate the code into their bylaws, requiring developers to meet targets at a certain level (i.e. Step) through energy modelling and on-site testing. By gradually adopting one or more of the 5 steps of the standard, local governments can increase building performance requirements in their communities.

For Step 1, builders can use conventional construction methods and materials that give builders more flexibility when considering energy efficiency. Achieving higher levels on the code means committing to substantial changes in building design, layout, framing techniques, system selection, and materials that reduce or eliminate green house gasses and maximize energy efficiency.

Step code steps via BC Energy

The Step Code energy model outlines how building design can meet a set of requirements that represent increasing levels of energy efficiency, design that inevitably must include space and water heating options.

Fortis pitch arrives as big decisions loom on construction & infrastructure

Carmen LeBlanc, manager of community and Indigenous relations and Jason Wolf, director of energy solutions for FortisBC presented to councillors in Sooke at their Nov. 25 meeting on the role it perceives LNG (liquefied natural gas) it could have in the district’s adoption of the ZCSC.

​​“Following the province [Step Code] timeline allows for more choice and more pathways to reduce emissions, deliver affordable energy and support a dependable energy grid,” LeBlanc said. Fortis is hoping Sooke will continue to consider LNG one of those choices.

Ravi Kahlon, housing minister, says he will step in to impose Bill 44 requirements after Sooke vote. Photo: BC Gov Flickr

The province also brought in legislation last year in Bill 44 that requires local governments to build more housing options, such as triplexes, townhomes, secondary suites in single-family dwellings, garden suites and laneway homes, including increased density on lots currently zoned for single-family or duplex homes.

Sooke applied for an extension of the compliance deadline. But that request was denied, giving Sooke until Dec. 16, 2024 to respond. On Nov 25, Sooke council voted 3:3 not to commit to either; adopting the StepCode or to the housing density legislation. In tie votes, a motion fails.

Colwood and View Royal have already adopted the Step Code. In a Dec 2 interview with CFAX 1070, housing minister Ravi Kahlon called Sooke’s vote “disappointing.”

Fortis makes case that it can be part of lower-carbon shift

LeBlanc touted LNG’s affordability as an energy source and asked councillors to consider the long-term impacts of a policy decision that would advocate for, in her words “value choice, resiliency, affordability and climate action” as Sooke looks to add additional housing units. Batement told The Westshore the district will soon face a rezoning vote for a major 400 single family unit development project outside the town centre.

LeBlanc recommended Sooke adopt the zero-carbon step code and “work with FortisBC to deliver and leverage its products for space and water heating.” That would mean keeping the municipality on the lower steps of the Code and rejecting BC Energy’s timeline for Zero Carbon by 2032.

Step code timeline via BC Energy / Colwood

FortisBC provides fossil gas to around 1.3 million customers across BC in 130+ communities through its extensive 50K network of pipelines. Described by lobbyists as a “ bridge fuel” to wean the world off coal and oil, LNG produces about half as much carbon emission at the point of combustion than coal.

As an incentive, FortisBC is looking to reward home owners and developers who choose to heat with natural gas rather than electricity by offering significant rebates– a Step 4 home would get $15K; a Step 5 home, $20K in rebates. Developers can receive up to $80K in rebates for multi-unit projects if they include FortisBC products and service for water and space heating.

In the meantime, the province’s CleanBC program is also looking to incentivize building owners by offering up to 30K for high-level assessments of properties to identify opportunities to improve energy efficiency and reduce reliance on fossil fuels through retrofitting.

How other municipalities in the region have voted on natural gas & the ZCSC

Other municipalities have rejected future reliance on gas products. View Royal shifted away from LNG in Sept. when its council voted unanimously in favour of moving away from heating homes and businesses with gas. Colwood council voted a year ago to expedite its targets under the Step Code. Other municipalities in the CRD that have implemented similar bylaws and rejected natural gas as a pathway to a Zero Carbon Step Code include Victoria, Saanich and Central Saanich.

Colwood subdivision. Photo: James Macdonad

On April 6 2023, Coun. Dave Thompson moved the motion to pursue other, more sustainable options. He told Capital Daily on Dec. 9, “my motivation was that we are in a climate emergency, and that we can quite easily have buildings heated by clean electricity with zero or near zero GHG emissions, instead of polluting fossil fuels.”

Victoria was among the first municipalities in the province to make the move to transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy for water and space heating by July 2025 when it unanimously adopted the provincial timeline for zero carbon performance (Emissions Level 4) for all new buildings.

After intense lobbying from environmental groups, Vancouver City Council recently voted against allowing new homes to be heated by natural gas. By its own admission, burning natural gas in buildings (for space and water heating) accounts for 55% of the carbon pollution generated in Vancouver.

In a release following the vote Dr. Melissa Lem, president of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, said, “This decision is about so much more than protecting the health of Vancouverites; it is about respecting the significant body of science, health, and sustainability studies demonstrating that continuing to tie in new buildings to gas is a dangerous path.”

Sooke council will have to make its own informed decision

During the question period following FortisBC’s presentation Mayor Maja Tait and other councillors referred to various incidents of property damages and inconvenience they had experienced as the result of recent weather events, including the summer wildfires around Sooke Potholes Regional Park and the bomb cyclone that impacted many households in the Westshore when it hit on Nov. 20.

In the face of those energy disruptions—mainly electrical—the council wants to avoid putting all their eggs in one basket. Natural gas could diversify the forms of energy that Sooke residents rely on.

But fossil fuel-related climate change can influence the frequency and intensity of these weather events such as atmospheric rivers, droughts, and wildfires. The fossil fuels most implicated in climate change-related weather events are carbon dioxide and methane.

Repairs on storm-damaged parts of Hwy 14 out past Sooke, 2 months ago. Photo; Emcon

Methane is the second-greatest contributor to greenhouse gases next to carbon dioxide. FortisBC is one of BC’s leading producers of methane. Coun. Jeff Bateman raised his concerns with LNG,  citing Premier Eby’s election promise to cut the carbon tax if and when the feds do.

“If Ottawa removes the enabling requirements, BC will not have a carbon tax.” Batement said.  However, he noted that Eby also said the NDP government would ensure that big industrial polluters would “pay their fair share.” In a question directed at LeBlanc, he asked “If big polluters have to pay their fair share, then will your costs be transferred down to the home heating bills? Because I think Fortis might qualify as a big polluter, wouldn’t it?”

It would.

LNG is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions

As a greenhouse gas, fracked gas ( mostly methane) is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide. In BC, a mixed source of natural gas is currently used, mainly by industry (60%) to process heat and steam generation and for heating. Natural gas is being used by 40% of homeowners across the province heating (40%). Not all of it  fracked. Much of it comes from natural gas wells in northeastern BC.

Fracking is the process of using a high-pressure mix of water, sand and chemicals to release oil and gas from deep underground—typically in shale deposits. The process of hydraulic fracking can poison water aquifers and cause earthquakes. Researchers have suggested that it has exposed communities in northern BC to toxic volatile organic compounds in their drinking water.

Buildings were BC's 3rd-largest source of emissions in 2021. Environmental Reporting BC

Methane is responsible for 11-12% of the province’s total greenhouse gas emissions, making it the third-largest source of provincial carbon pollution after emissions from transportation and from the fossil fuel industry itself. LeBlanc told councillors that Fortis is looking to expand its capacity to produce 6.3 petajoules of LNG by year end (1 PJ = 31.6 million m³ of natural gas, or 278 million kilowatt hours of electricity).

Scientists are calling out harmful LNG

In November, the David Suzuki Foundation called fracked gas a “washed out bridge to nowhere.”

The production and transport of shale gas alone emits a substantial amount of methane. Beyond its production, the liquefication of LNG is energy intensive. It requires huge amounts of either hydro power or other fossil fuels, which contributes significantly to the LNG greenhouse gas footprint before the gas itself is even used by consumers.

Liquefaction is a physical conversion of a gas into a liquid state that enables it to be transported in marine tankers. The liquefaction process is an important source of emissions of both carbon dioxide and methane, reflected in the tremendous amount of energy needed to super cool the gas and the release of unburned methane at liquefaction facilities like LNG Canada’s Kitimat facility.

The Kitimat faciity will begin shipping LNG to Asia next year. Photo: LNG Canada

The BC Environmental advocacy group Dogwood says FortisBC has spent a lot of advertising money misleading about toxic fracked gas. FortisBC signs dot the roadside along the Pat Bay highway and can be found on the radio and in bush shelters throughout the CRD.

The environmental organization has accused FortisBC of misleading consumers into thinking their “ renewable” methane is a “climate solution,” a reasonable bridge towards ending our fossil fuel reliance. They have accused FortisBC of trying to delay the transition to clean electricity and to grow their customer base to keep generating profit through lobbying, ad campaigns and presentations—like the one Sooke and other councils received.

A rose by another name

FortisBC calls bio methane combined with fracked methane ‘renewable’ natural gas (RNG).

RNG is created when organic waste from sources like landfills or manure breaks down and emits methane. For existing landfills, that methane has to go somewhere. But rather than use it directly as a heat source, it can be captured to produce electricity using gas-to-electricity technologies in landfills.

Natural gas will be converted to RNG through a new process at Hartland. Image: CRD

Diana Sorace, a communications rep for Fortis, told Capital Daily in an email that as of January 1, 2025, two per cent of all customer gas will be designated RNG, an increase from one per cent from July 1 2024. She said the RNG/LNG blend will increase over time and that customers will receive a carbon tax credit (biomethane credit) on their bills for the portion of their gas designated as RNG.

According to LeBlanc, RNG will soon be delivered to the Island via the Hartland landfill, where the CRD has engaged Waga Energy t o build and run a new facility that will turn landfill biogas into Renewable Natural Gas (RNG). In the last five years, the technology, called WAGABOX®, became operational at 13 other landfills. FortisBC will buy the RNG at a fixed price and cover the costs to add it to their existing gas system.

FortisBC recently came under fire in an exposé written by Glacier Media, for redacting parts of an independent report that it used to lobby municipalities to keep the natural gas industry alive. Through a Freedom of Information query, Glacier discovered that the gas company had altered a report commissioned by the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation and removed sections that indicated electrification and heat pumps are a more efficient path to decarbonize the province.

LeBlanc's invitation to Sooke council to join it in its “commitment to decarbonizing the gas system through its clean growth pathway” is the kind of language the David Suzuki Foundation and Dogwood have described as misleading “greenwashing.”

Heat pump image via Better Homes BC (Bc Gov)

“This is a great opportunity for local governments to participate in the economy of clean energy, LeBlanc said. “The ability to cook and use a gas fireplace is important for residents who value resiliency when other sources of energy may not be available, as Sooke and many Island communities have intimately experienced over the past few weeks.”

Scientists are telling another story about the effects of indoor use of “natural” gas for cooking. A group of doctors and nurses has filed a complaint against the Canadian Gas Association alleging it ran a “false and misleading” advertising campaign that touted gas as an "eco-friendly" fuel. Touting itself as the “voice of Canada’s natural gas,” the group includes Fortis, Enbridge and TC Energy — some of the largest gas utilities and pipeline companies in BC.

Research has suggested combusting liquefied natural gas as a cooking fuel at home increases the chance of children developing asthma by 42%. Other studies have found cooking with gas is comparable to living with a smoker when it comes to those same chances.

Other sustainable energy options

Just down the road, T’Souke Nation is making different choices. With support from the province’s First Nations Clean Energy Business Fund (FNCEBF), T’Sou-ke Nation will power its community with clean energy by building and installing a solar photovoltaic system. The European Environment Agency sees landfill as the least desirable waste management option that should be used only if absolutely necessary.

UVic-affiliated testing of Mavi's Mi1 tidal turbine near West Thurlow Island. Credit: Photo: Mavi Innovations Inc

Since 2010, Europeans have reduced waste directed to landfills by 27%.

Vancouver Island has some of the highest potential for tidal energy in the world because of the channels and fjords on the west coast of the Island. It’s also a perfect site for exploring wave energy projects. Tidal and wave power are consistent, predictable and sustainable alternative sources of energy, convertible into electricity for heating. In 2023, the province’s Innovative Clean Energy (ICE) Fund floated $2M to support UVic research on tidal turbines and other renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and low carbon hydrogen.

Turbines inside tidal barrages allow a large basin to fill during incoming tides which when released again in outgoing tides produces energy (electricity).

Council will weigh long-term vision & immediate need

This renewable energy technology may not be developed in time for imminent housing demands in the Westshore and and throughout the CRD, but the lag offers the opportunity to consider the costs of laying the groundwork for more sustainable choices. Given the pressures it’s facing, Sooke has some significant choices to make.