British Columbia Energy Minister Adrian Dix says an agreement between BC Hydro and the Nisga’a Nation will see the North Coast Transmission Line supply up to 600 megawatts of clean electricity to the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG terminal, helping the roughly $30-billion project reach a final investment decision.
A power deal for Canada’s second-largest LNG project
The agreement, announced in Prince George on Tuesday, is a memorandum of understanding between BC Hydro and Ksi Lisims LNG that confirms the steps to connect the floating liquefied natural gas facility to the provincial grid. The project, planned for Nisga’a Treaty territory on Pearse Island north of Prince Rupert, would produce 12 million tonnes of LNG per year, making it Canada’s second-largest LNG facility if built.
Ksi Lisims LNG received its environmental approvals from both the provincial and federal governments in September 2025. What it does not yet have is a final investment decision — the point at which its backers commit to building it.
Dix said that decision would not be possible if governments had not been investing in infrastructure such as the North Coast Transmission Line to supply the clean electricity the plant needs. He said it is government’s role to build infrastructure, and that the announcement will help facilitate private-sector investment because investors can now see a plan in front of them.
“Once operational, Ksi Lisims LNG is expected to generate $30 billion in investment, create thousands of skilled careers and strengthen Canada’s position as a global LNG exporter,” Dix said.
Why the transmission line matters
LNG plants are enormous electricity users when they are designed to run on grid power rather than burning gas on site. Running Ksi Lisims on 600 megawatts of hydroelectricity is central to the project’s claim to be a low-emissions facility, and to the Nisga’a Nation’s goal of a net-zero operation.
Both the transmission line and the LNG project sit on the federal government’s list of major projects of national importance, which puts them in line for faster approvals through Ottawa’s Major Projects Office. Dix said the line will also open up the resource-rich region of northwestern B.C. known as the Golden Triangle, where mines and other industrial projects have long been constrained by a lack of power.
The line itself is a major build: it twins the existing 500-kilovolt transmission corridor from Prince George to Terrace and extends it north toward Bob Quinn Lake. Several First Nations in the K’uul Power consortium have signed agreements giving them an option to acquire up to 50 per cent equity in the project.
What has happened since
BC Hydro said in January that construction of the line was expected to start in the summer of 2026, with Ksi Lisims as its first major customer and full electrification of the LNG plant expected in 2032.
That schedule largely held. Construction on Phase 1 of the North Coast Transmission Line officially began on Sept. 3, 2026, and in July the federal and B.C. governments signed a co-operation agreement committing $3.9 billion to the first two phases. The Canada Infrastructure Bank also closed a $139.5-million loan to BC Hydro for pre-construction work.
Ksi Lisims LNG has continued to sign up buyers, including 20-year sales agreements, but its final investment decision — the milestone Dix was pointing to in January — is now targeted for early 2027.
