The BC Liberals’ promotion of Independent Power Projects is, for the most part, a bad policy say MLAs Norm Macdonald and John Horgan.
The two have been campaigning to stop the increasing penetration of IPPS into the streams and small rivers of the BC Interior.
They say the IPPs are being built without significant public input and, in a way, mimic the mindset that brought about the destruction of homes, villages and farms throughout the Columbia Basin.
“I believe it’s wrong and the Official Opposition believe it’s wrong,” Horgan, MLA for Malahat-Juan de Fuca and the Official Opposition’s critic for energy, said in an interview last Monday.
Macdonald, MLA for Columbia River-Revelstoke, said “there are almost 25 of these projects proposed in my riding” and he predicted that as they come on line rural residents will “understand that there are complications... and overlapping interests that haven’t been thought through.”
“And, too, I think people will be surprised to see that locally we have no say,” he said.
Macdonald said that Section 56 of the BC Liberals’ Bill 30 deprives local governments of having any say over the development of IPPs.
There are successful IPPs in the Revelstoke area such as the Pingston and Alkokolex stations. But others are not proposed for English Creek, Crazy Creek and other areas.
“There’s no planning and there’s no full consideration of the environmental impacts of these projects,” Macdonald said.
IPPs have generated protests and heavily attended public meetings in the Golden-Invermere corridor but have not excited people in Revelstoke — yet. The last meeting on IPPs held here in the spring attracted barely 25 people.Macdonald said there is also “no business case” for developing IPPs. BC Hydro has been prevented by the government from developing large new dams but the addition of Unit 5 at Revelstoke will boost its production. In the meantime, the IPPS, which are being built by small independent companies from BC and Alberta are proving to be expensive to build and operate. BC Hydro is being forced, the MLAs said, to purchase power from them at high rates.
To find out more about IPPs please go to www.ippwatch.info.