January 12, 2026

By Tom Hackney and Bill Andrews

The BCUC has approved FortisBC Energy Inc.’s (FEI’s) application to build the Tilbury LNG Storage Expansion Project (TLSE), a $1.14 billion project to replace the existing 0.6 billion cubic foot (BCF) storage tank with a new 3 BCF storage tank and to install new regasification equipment. 

Of TLSE’s total capacity, one third will replace the function of the existing storage tank, which supplies customers in the Lower Mainland during times of peak demand for gas (typically during winter cold snaps). The other 2 BCF of TLSE will be reserved to provide resiliency to FEI’s gas supply in the Lower Mainland.

To BCSEA’s knowledge, this is the first major expenditure FEI has justified in terms of resiliency. TLSE is designed to enable FEI’s gas distribution system to continue to operate for up to three days after a serious disruption in the incoming supply of natural gas. Specifically, the concern is the possibility of a multi-day “no-flow” event on the Enbridge T-South pipeline (actually two parallel pipelines) which supplies the bulk of the natural gas distributed by FEI in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island.

In its initial argument in 2022, BCSEA opposed TLSE on the ground that new investment in fossil fuel infrastructure risks inhibiting the reduction of GHG emissions (see BCSEA Opposes LNG Storage Expansion Project, November 2022).

However, in its July 2025 final argument, BCSEA supported TLSE. Importantly for BCSEA, TLSE would neither increase nor decrease emissions of BC greenhouse gases. BCSEA recognized that TLSE is needed to replace the existing end-of-life storage tank that provides peaking supply, and that TLSE would help protect people in the Lower Mainland from the worst consequences of a sudden major failure of the gas supply, should that happen.

Notably, the TLSE Project does not include the LNG bunkering and export functions that are part of FortisBC’s Tilbury Phase 2 Expansion Project.