On October 7, 2025, Canfor Pulp and Paper Ltd. (Canfor) filed an application with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) pursuant to section 88(3) of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA) for a class of persons exemption from Part 3 of the UCA, which gives the BCUC the authority to oversee a public utility with respect to its commercial operations, rates, reliability, and safety, as well as section 71 of the UCA which gives the BCUC oversight over a public utility's energy purchase agreements.
Canfor operates three pulp mills located in Prince George, BC (collectively, the Pulp Mills), which currently rely primarily on natural gas and biofuel to generate heat for their milling operations. Canfor plans to resell electricity that it purchases from BC Hydro to parties operating computation-based heating systems (Server Processing Parties) on a flow-through basis without markup, plus a monthly contribution of up to 15% of the Server Processing Party's total electricity consumption cost to account for capital depreciation and maintenance costs on Canfor's electricity infrastructure. In turn, Server Processing Parties would supply heat generated as a byproduct of their operations to the Pulp Mills, which Canfor states would enable it to offset heat generated from fossil fuels and help it to meet its decarbonisation goals.
To participate in the proceeding, please see the Public Notice below or visit www.bcuc.com/get-involved for more information.