Government concern about Site C dam stalls power plan

By Scott Simpson
Vancouver Sun
08-Dec-2005

BC Hydro's ambitious 20-year plan for a multibillion-dollar makeover of British Columbia's electricity system hit a major snag Thursday when the provincial government ordered Hydro to back off out of concern about the controversial Site C dam project.

Hydro officials had little to say. Bob Elton, Hydro president and CEO, issued a brief statement by e-mail that the plan, which was to be unveiled today, would be delayed until an unspecified date next year.

Hydro's "Integrated Energy Plan" was expected to include a mix of small, private sector hydroelectric projects, electricity conservation initiatives, upgrades to large government-owned facilities -- and a decision to proceed with the controversial Site C dam on the Peace River near Fort St. John.

It was not immediately clear if the province's concerns were attributable to soft cost estimates for Site C -- which would cost taxpayers a minimum $3.5 billion -- or strong opposition from first nations in northeast B.C., or a conflict with independent power producers who were promised in 2002 that all new power projects in British Columbia would be developed by the private sector.

"In consultation with government, we have now decided to postpone this release and will be doing further work to ensure that this plan meets the needs of ratepayers," Elton said.

Earlier this week, some B.C. Liberal MLAs told Vancouver Sun political columnist Vaughn Palmer that they had concerns about Hydro's ability to shepherd the controversial Site C hydroelectric project -- the cornerstone of the new plan -- through to completion.

NDP energy critic Corky Evans said the province's 11th-hour involvement casts a shadow across more than a year's worth of community consultation and preparatory work by BC Hydro.

"What I find really bizarre is that it flies in the face of the Liberal mantra, maintained all through the public debate about the sale of Terasen Gas and the controversy about the [CN] railroad and all kinds of stuff, that it was not their intention to manipulate public processes or commissions or Crown corporations," Evans said.

Energy Minister Richard Neufeld was tied up in a series of meetings and could not be reached for comment.

Hydro goes through a similar planning exercise very two years, submitting details to the B.C. Utilities Commission as per its regulatory requirements.

However, this year's version of the plan was considered to be its most ambitious effort in more than a decade, in light of British Columbia's growing dependence on imported electricity to supplement a provincial resource that has not grown significantly in volume since the Revelstoke Dam was built in the early 1980s.

Earlier this month, Treaty 8 first nations in northeastern B.C. advised Hydro that they "adamantly" oppose Site C.

The construction of two earlier dams on the Peace, the W.A.C. Bennett and Peace Canyon dams, led to flooding of millions of acres of traditional hunting and fishing territory for the bands.

A BC Hydro summary of a meeting with the aboriginals reported that they "made it clear that they are adamantly against the development of Site C."

ssimpson@png.canwest.com