Backgrounder
On June 23, 2026, the Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced over $16 million for five projects to support clean energy infrastructure in British Columbia, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. All five projects are being funded by the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program (SREPs), a $4.5-billion program that supports the deployment of grid modernization projects, energy storage and non-emitting electricity generation in every region of Canada, helping to grow the grid in a sustainable, affordable and reliable manner.
Project name: Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Deployment in the Northwest Territories
Recipient: Naka Power Utilities (NWT) Ltd.
Location: Across Northwest Territories
Funding amount: $4,440,463
Description: Naka Power Utilities will deploy approximately 10,000 AMI meters and supporting communications equipment across nine remote communities in the Northwest Territories, replacing manual and legacy metering systems with modern, two-way smart meters.
Project name: ATCO Electric Yukon Advanced Metering Infrastructure
Recipient: ATCO Electric Yukon (legal name: The Yukon Electrical Company Limited)
Location: Across Yukon Territory
Funding amount: $7,543,278
Description: ATCO Electric Yukon will deploy approximately 20,000 AMI meters and the supporting communications equipment across 19 Yukon communities. They will also enable enhanced capabilities of the AMI platform in an isolated system to guide future deployment.
Project name: Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Renewable and Electrification Feasibility Studies
Recipient: Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen
Location: Penticton, British Columbia
Funding amount: $582,504
Description: This project conducted a series of energy audits, demand-side review and renewable and electrification feasibility studies on 38 facilities within the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen.
Project name: Helhts’i Power Project
Recipient: Saik’uz First Nation
Location: Vanderhoof, British Columbia
Funding amount: $1,500,000
Description: The Helhts’i Power Project (formerly named Nulki Hill Wind Farm Project) will focus on pre-development activities for a proposed 200-MW wind farm, located 30 km south of Vanderhoof, that will be Indigenous-led and majority-owned by the recipient.
Project name: Metlakatla Mount Hays Wind Project
Recipient: Metlakatla Development Corporation
Location: Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Funding amount: $2,000,000
Description: The project will focus on the feasibility stage for a proposed 100 percent First Nation-owned 40-MW wind farm that will provide much needed electrical capacity to the Prince Rupert region.