The cost for electricity in BC is rising and British Columbians want to know why

February 27 2008

The BC Liberal government will tell you that it costs more to generate power and that the cost of maintaining and building transmission lines is growing, but they are not telling us the whole story.

BC Hydro has a long history of providing affordable electricity to British Columbians while selling our excess power into the North American grid, keeping the crown corporation profitable and sustainable.

BC Hydro has been a tremendous asset owned by the people of British Columbia, but since 2001, the Liberal government has consistently worked to undermine that asset with no regard to the cost to both British Columbians and to our environment.

Public funds were used to identify hundreds of sites throughout the province that had potential to be used for hydro power developments, but in 2002, BC Hydro was prohibited by the BC Liberals from developing any new power sites. The government then made the decision to allow these identified locations to be sold to private interests for as little as $5000 per site.

BC Hydro was then required to enter into power contracts with these companies. These contracts guarantee a very lucrative price for electricity generated through run-of-river private power projects. These exorbitant rates that we will pay private producers for that power will make these projects so valuable to private companies that the cost of building these projects is minor in comparison.

At present, BC Hydro electricity costs about $5.98/MWh to produce. Last year, BC Hydro paid private power companies $60.67/MWh and newer purchase agreements have rates as high $89.00/MWh.

This is not free enterprise; this is a government manipulating a situation that ensures massive profits for private business while BC residents are stuck with the bill.

But that’s not all. Not only did public money pay to do all the research to identify the sites, public money will also pay for all the new transmission lines to service all of these projects. That will cost you $600 million.

And, when these very lucrative contracts are up, these power producers will have no obligation to continue to provide power to British Columbians. The citizens of British Columbia will lose control ofthese rivers and will no longer own the electricity that is produced on them.

We are giving away our rivers and we are going to pay more for power in the process. British Columbians need to take the time to understand the truth behind the rising cost of hydro in this province.