British Columbia · Electricity Grid Emissions Intensity (g CO2e per kWh)

## What this measures

How much greenhouse gas the power plants in British Columbia emit for each kWh of electricity they generate. Generation intensity: grams of greenhouse gas, in CO2 equivalent, emitted per kWh of electricity generated by public electricity and heat producers (NAICS 22111). Annual, dated December 31. The tables publish 1990, 2005, 2010, 2015 and each of the last six years; the newest year is preliminary, and each edition revises every year shown.

## Why it matters

Grid intensity sets the emissions footprint of everything that runs on electricity in the province, from homes and heat pumps to electric vehicles and data centers. It falls as coal and oil give way to hydro, nuclear, wind and gas.

## How to read it

Lower means cleaner power. The provinces that run mostly on hydro (Quebec, Manitoba, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador) have stayed under 35 g in every year published since 2005; the provinces and territories that rely on coal, gas or diesel sit in the hundreds. Compare provinces in the same year, or with the Canada total (canada.electricity.ghg_intensity.can).

## What it does not say

It is the intensity of electricity generated in the province, not consumed: power imported from a neighbour counts where it was made. Emissions from flooding land for hydro dams are not included. It covers utility and independent power producers (NAICS 22111), not industrial plants that generate their own power.

## Source

Environment and Climate Change Canada, National Inventory Report, electricity intensity tables. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.