B.C. Government Admits $1.46 Billion Error in Natural Gas Revenue Forecasts

The British Columbia government has acknowledged that its forecasted natural gas revenues were overstated by about $1.46 billion over five fiscal years due to errors, including botched currency conversions.

Energy Minister Adrian Dix said that the most significant error was a 'serious mistake,' caused by an incorrect assumption that figures were shown in U.S. dollars when they were actually in Canadian dollars.

The error resulted in a price decrease of 44 cents per gigajoule of natural gas in B.C.'s forecasting for 2026-2027, and correcting it reduced forecasted revenue by about 24% for the current fiscal year, from $1.297 billion to $991 million.

The province's forecasting is based on private-sector estimates of natural gas prices, which are provided in Canadian or U.S. dollars. The errors were independently verified and corrections will be included in the province's quarterly fiscal report expected later this month.