What's BC Hydro done lately? Not much!
By Ian Cass
Opinion
Saanich News
14 July 2004
In the early 1990s, BC Hydro alerted the NDP government of the day
about the future security of electric power to Vancouver Island. In
1996, a power producers panel was set up to review this matter. On
their recommendation, the government directed Hydro to participate in
the gas-fired generation plant proposed at Campbell River. This
project finally overcame start-up problems and went into production in
May 2002. In the meantime, the government directed Hydro to pursue a
second gas-fired plant at Port Alberni. That site proved unacceptable
and was moved to Duke Point near Nanaimo. The Nanaimo project, named
VIGP, required prior approval of the B.C. Utilities Commission and a
hearing on this matter was held July 21, 2003.
It should be understood that Hydro's preference was for installation
of new, high-voltage undersea cables to the Island to continue to
secure power from the Mainland.
A system that had served us well for half a century.
It should also be understood that both NDP and Liberal governments
favoured the introduction of gas-powered plants for reasons many
people found hard to understand. I have already written extensively on
this, and I think the public needs to understand that the output from
both the existing and proposed gas plants can only produce a small
fraction of the Island's needs. In the event of a submarine cable
failure, we would still face a major blackout much like the power
failure of Christmas 2002.
Back to the hearing by the utilities commission regarding the VIGP
project at Nanaimo. The present Liberal government has, in its energy
plan of 2002, dictated that future power-generating capacity shall be
provided by the private sector and not BC Hydro. The commission ruled
that, with the proposed VIGP gas-fired plant, the private sector had
not been given full opportunity for alternative proposals. On this
basis, the Hydro application for approval was denied and they were
directed to invite the private sector to submit alternative proposals
and bids. This would enable the commission to decide whether or not
the VIGP at Nanaimo was the "most cost-effective solution to the
problem at hand."
This decision was handed down in an 80-page report dated September 8,
2003, which said, among other things, "the future reliability concerns
remain and the Commission expects Hydro to reapply for approval by
Spring 2004 to resolve these concerns."
Current comment by Hydro is that they plan to have a resubmission
ready for November this year. This date seems optimistic to say the
least.
And now, gentle readers, let's see if we can summarize to this point.
We have gone 10 years since Hydro alerted government with concerns
about the reliability of electric power supply to the Island. For the
past 50 years we have enjoyed cheap, reliable and clean power from the
Mainland via submarine cable and generated by the infinite power of
evaporation and condensation - our rivers system. During this time,
although much has been said about our decaying undersea cables,
nothing has been done to apply adequate replacement of the cables or
to expand the water generation capacity either here or on the
Mainland. In fact, the condition of the cables themselves does not
appear to have been given proper examination and appraisal. Instead,
the NDP gave their backing for gas-fired generation in supporting the
Campbell River unit, while their successors have done even worse.
It might be useful now, briefly and mercifully, to cover the actions
of the present government with respect to the matter of electric power
and the Liberals' contribution to its continued provision, by clean
hydro-generation in an economic and reliable fashion.
The fact is they have done nothing positive. We remain as vulnerable
now as when they were elected, even more so as the present system is
three years older and more prone to breakdown. Not one watt of
additional power has been produced nor one dollar spent in
refurbishing our cable system.
In fact Campbell's government - or more correctly, Campbell and a few
"advisors" - have totally emasculated what was BC Hydro in terms of it
being a fully, vertically-integrated and efficient power utility,
operating well in the interests of its public owners while also paying
tax revenue to the government. The dismemberment of BC Hydro and the
introduction of an outside agency, Accenture, and the separation of
other activities has left us with a real dog's breakfast in terms of
responsibilities and ownership. In addition, the Minister of Energy,
Richard Neufeld, has issued an official government Energy Plan that
belongs in Alice in Wonderland. Macbeth would have said the plan is
"full of sound and fury, signifying nothing," to paraphrase from that
well-read play.
It says nothing on the all-important subject of hydro-generation
expansion here or on the Mainland, although a major expansion on the
Peace River has already been designed.
It does say BC Hydro shall not be involved in building future
generation projects. That means our experts at Hydro are no longer
available to build generators, just as our ship builders are not
available to build new ferries.
Unfortunately, space does not permit a more detailed summary of the
current situation (pun intended) but I'll just leave you with a couple
of thoughts. Hydro generation is non-polluting, non-consuming and
comes at a low cost of about $23 per megawatt hour.
Gas-fired generation is polluting, consumes a finite resource with no
price control and costs about $70 per megawatt hour. The provision of
a significant volume of gas-fired generation on the Island is a
billion dollars away and 2010 is an optimistic time frame.
Whoever hopes to succeed this government had better come up with a
sensible plan to deal with this impending disaster before the next
election. The first price increase will be here shortly and the next
one just after the election. Of course we have to spend money but, as
we said years ago, fix the cables first. The gas will still be there
later if needed as a backup.
* Ian Cass is a former Saanich councillor and a long-term contributor
to the Saanich News.