Little guys win one

Editorial
Cowichan Valley Citizen
June 22, 2005

An amazing victory was achieved by Valley residents such as Arthur Caldicott, Steve Miller and the many others who fought the various incarnations of B.C. Hydro's gas-fired generating plant at Duke Point.

These are people with families and regular day jobs. Nonetheless, they successfully challenged Hydro's expert consumption forecasts and proved the 252-megawatt plant is not needed.

Not only that but they developed a viable alternative plan of their own, and succeeded in convincing the powers that be that Vancouver Island's electrical demands can be met with upgraded cables and other sources, such as NorskeCanada's proposed cogeneration plant.

To achieve all this they developed highly detailed reports and position papers and sat through days and days of monotonous hearings fraught with danger from the heavy hitters and their high-powered legal teams.

Through it all they maintained a cool, competent, informed professionalism oddly lacking in the so-called professionals.

B.C. Hydro has now spent hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on a failed cogen plant in Port Alberni, a failed pipeline from Washington State and a failed gas plant at Duke Point.

Our provincial government needs to examine whether Hydro officials lied and bullied their way through these processes, pursuing personal ambitions at tremendous public expense.

If heads roll, we know of some competent, honest replacements.