The storm warning that has become a regular storm watch for B.C. as November gives way to December has done far more than destroy vital transportation and supply chain infrastructure.
It has, or should have, seeded concerns about the resilience and flexibility of other critical infrastructure in the province and elsewhere across the country.
Power generation should be atop that list of concerns.
In the United States, widespread power outages have shown how vulnerable the country’s power grid is to wild weather fluctuations.
Those fluctuations in the form of recent rainstorms in B.C. should likewise be sharpening focus on the state of power grid reliability and stability in the province.
But there is far more than weather for power producers to consider here.
Black & Veatch’s 2021-22 Electric Report surveyed approximately 500 electricity sector stakeholders on key issues facing power producers today.
The top three challenges, according to respondents to the engineering and infrastructure company’s survey, had little to do with weather. Instead, they were, in order of importance, the integration of renewables into power grids, cybersecurity threats to those grids and replacing aging power generation and delivery infrastructure.
These are all significant challenges for an industry that is fundamental to every other business sector.
B.C. is blessed with an abundance of hydroelectric power that gives it a starting point in the renewable energy generation race that is far ahead of many other regions of North America.
But having that head start is only one part of a reliable and resilient power play.
B.C.’s needs to include robust defences against potential cybersecurity breaches, more flexibility of renewable generation sources and more diverse delivery systems. The province also needs to ensure that it is training a workforce to develop and maintain 21st century electrical grid technology.
Shortcomings in any of those areas will mean B.C. will have far more than the weather to worry about.
