The purpose of this policy is to establish a policy regarding the usage of BC Hydro PILT monies received.
BC Hydro is a Crown corporation that is exempt from all property taxes other than those levied to schools. To compensate regional districts for the loss of this taxation revenue, BC Hydro pays grants to regional districts when there are generating facilities located within their electoral boundaries as grants in lieu of taxes, otherwise known as GILT, but at the SLRD, we use PILT as the most common terminology, meaning payments in lieu of taxes.
The formula for determining the amount of PILT that local governments receive is established by Orders in Council (OIC), under the authority of the Hydro and Power Authority Act. BC Hydro is authorized to pay PILT with respect to their generating facilities as set out in OIC No. 268/2011, OIC No. 265/2016, OIC No. 533/2017 and OIC No. 239/2025.
SLRD’s BC Hydro infrastructure attributable to PILT with updated capacity in megawatts:
| Facility | Area(s) | Generating Capacity (MW) | % of TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bridge River 1 | A/B | 203 | 29% |
| Bridge River 2 | A/B | 288 | 42% |
| La Joie | A | 25 | 4% |
| Cheakamus | D | 174 | 25% |
| TOTAL | 690 | 100% |
Bridge River 1, Bridge River 2, La Joie (Northern Facilities)
- The reservoir (Carpenter Lake/Terzaghi Dam) and penstock intakes are in Electoral Area A.
- The 6 penstocks (large pipes carrying water to the powerhouses) pass from Electoral Area A to Electoral Area B.
- The powerhouses and generating equipment are in Electoral Area B (Seton Portage/ Tsal’alh).
- The La Joie Dam is at the top of the Bridge River System in Electoral Area A.
- Note: the Seton Dam and Powerhouse PILT goes to the District of Lillooet, as the generating facilities are located within their municipal boundaries.
The Cheakamus system (Southern Facility)
Daisy Lake Dam impounds water flowing south from the headwaters of the Cheakamus River in Daisy Lake Reservoir for diversion through a tunnel that runs through Cloudburst Mountain to the Cheakamus Generating Station on the Squamish River. Water is released from the dam down a 26-kilometre stretch of the Cheakamus River to its confluence with the Squamish River.
Current Policy Details
The current policy divides the BC Hydro PILT by Facility as follows:
- Bridge River 1 @ 30%
- Bridge River 2 @ 42%
- La Joie @ 4%
- Cheakamus @ 24%
Staff believe this division was meant to mimic the generating capacity of each facility. When reviewing the current capacity recently received from BC Hydro, two slight changes are seen:
- Bridge River 1 is now 29% and Cheakamus is now 25%.
Current funding pockets within the Policy with 2025 amounts and % of total BC Hydro PILT:
| Funding Pocket | of PILT | Current Policy Treatment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Government | $697,359 | 36.11% | Flat - increases if > 4% annual incr. |
| Land Use Planning | $324,231 | 16.79% | Flat annual amount |
| General Select | $10,808 | .56% | Flat annual amount |
| Electoral Area A Select | $51,337 | 2.65% | Flat annual amount |
| Electoral Area B Select | $51,337 | 2.65% | Flat annual amount |
| Electoral Area C Select | $51,337 | 2.65% | Flat annual amount |
| Electoral Area D Select | $51,337 | 2.65% | Flat annual amount |
| Lillooet REC Centre | $12,088 | 0.63% | Flat annual amount |
| Seton / Tsal’alh Fire Protection | $7,110 | 0.37% | Flat annual amount |
| Squamish Public Library | $14,221 | 0.74% | Flat annual amount |
| Electoral Area A PILT reserve *Northern Area Allocation | $202,587 | 10.50% | Cumulative increase 4% annual increase of N. facilities (40% split) |
| Electoral Area B PILT reserve *Northern Area Allocation | $202,587 | 10.50% | Cumulative increase 4% annual increase of N. facilities (40% split) |
| District of Lillooet *Northern Area Allocation | $101,294 | 5.25% | Cumulative increase 4% annual increase of N. facilities (20% split) |
| Electoral Area D / DOS reserve *Southern Area Allocation | $153,426 | 7.95% | Cumulative increase 4% annual increase of S. facility (100%) |
- Northern Area Allocation: Area A, Area B and District of Lillooet (DOL) receive 4% of the annual increase of the BC Hydro PILT for the Northern BC Hydro facilities (Bridge River, La Joie).
- Southern Area Allocation: Area D / District of Squamish (DOS) receives 4% of the annual increase of the BC Hydro PILT for the Cheakamus facility.
- Any annual increase over 4% is added to General Government.
- All funding pockets to reset as per Schedule A of the Policy and then increase with the annual PILT % increase when the Northern Area amounts reach 37.5% of the total PILT for the North (and similarly 37.5% of the South). This change is currently estimated to occur in 2027.