Hydro defends Duke Point power plan

Scott Simpson
CanWest News Service
Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Residents of Vancouver Island will face an "unacceptable risk" of blackouts unless B.C. Hydro gets permission to proceed with plans for the Duke Point power project, a British Columbia Utilities Commission panel heard Monday in Vancouver.

The plant would serve about 10 per cent of Vancouver Island's electricity needs and carries fixed costs of $1.1 billion -- plus natural-gas requirements that could bring the total cost of the project to $4.5 billion over 25 years.

Hydro wants to develop the plant in partnership with a Calgary-based private company, Pristine Power.

At the opening of a BCUC hearing into Hydro's plans for a gas-fired generating plant to be located at Duke Point near Nanaimo, Hydro executive Bev Van Ruyven said the plant guarantees the Island a secure energy supply at a reasonable cost.

"Our foremost concern in this proceeding remains reliability of supply," Van Ruyven told a BCUC panel during a Hydro presentation.

She noted that Island residents set a record for electricity consumption last Friday -- many residents use electricity to heat their homes due to limited access to natural gas.

In addition, some high-voltage cables that carry electricity from the Mainland to Island residents will reach the end of their useful life in 2007 -- although replacements will not be available until 2008.

"We at B.C. Hydro are obligated to serve our customers. On Friday, we hit a new peak for Vancouver Island. At just under 2300 megawatts, this peak is higher than we were forecasting for 2008.

"A solution has been sought for Vancouver Island for over 10 years. We have studied and analysed the problem, and now is the time to act," Van Ruyven said.

Opponents have been questioning Hydro's assertions, saying that cheaper alternatives such as lowered industrial electricity consumption during times of peak residential demand would have the same impact for much less money.

The Joint Industry Electricity Steering Committee and other groups oppose the project, saying it's too costly to justify against the slight possibility of a blackout on a single cold day prior to the installation of new cables.