BC Hydro receives six tenders in the Vancouver Island Call for Tenders

August 16, 2004

BC Hydro receives six submissions from bidders in the Vancouver Island Call for Tenders process

Full evaluation of tenders underway, agreements to be awarded late October
VANCOUVER – Six bidders have chosen to submit tenders to BC Hydro under the Vancouver Island Call for Tenders (VI CFT) process. The tenders are in response to BC Hydro's requirement for dependable capacity and associated energy on Vancouver Island to help meet the Island's need for new electricity supply.

"We're reviewing the tenders submitted," said BC Hydro's Senior Vice-President, Distribution, Bev Van Ruyven. "We take very seriously our obligation to meet our customers' electricity needs on Vancouver Island and across the province. With six bidders making submissions, we are optimistic the VI CFT will produce an outcome that enables us to continue to meet our service obligations on Vancouver Island in a reliable, cost-effective manner."

The next milestone in the CFT process is the announcement of the successful projects and awarding of Electricity Purchase Agreements by late October. BC Hydro expects to award one or more 25-year Electricity Purchase Agreements, based on cost effectiveness, which will then be filed with the regulator, the BC Utilities Commission, for final review and determination of public interest.

BC Hydro began the VI CFT process in 2003 to address the anticipated supply shortfall on Vancouver Island. To ensure that the process is fair, open and transparent, three external parties have been involved. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) was retained in October 2003 as the independent reviewer for the process, responsible for monitoring and reporting on fairness and BC Hydro's adherence to the VI CFT. A final report will be issued by PwC at the time contracts are awarded. For the pre-qualification phase, KPMG Corporate Finance Inc. and R.W. Beck, Inc. were retained to provide third party reviews of the financial and technical criteria used to assess whether bidders and projects would meet the requirements for making reliable supply available by May 2007.

"BC Hydro will now review the tenders to ensure they meet the mandatory criteria and to assess their development risk and other issues, as set in the Call for Tenders," added Van Ruyven. "The tenders will be then be reviewed for cost-effectiveness and the final awards will also be examined by the BCUC, so that when the successful project or projects are announced, the people of Vancouver Island can have highest confidence in BC Hydro's decision."

BC Hydro expects the results of the CFT to complement its balanced portfolio of green energy and demand-side management. By 2012, BC Hydro expects to have acquired 3500 gigawatt hours from Power Smart and 1100 gigawatt hours from Resource Smart, as well as approximately 2500 gigawatt hours from new clean sources that are scheduled to be operational by September 2006.

Contact:
Elisha Moreno
Media Relations manager
Phone: (604) 623-4099
elisha.moreno@bchydro.com

www.bchydro.com

Comment
The 11 bidder shortlist released in April (link) was heavily loaded with natural gas projects in Nanaimo, as is this August list of projects that chose to submit a formal tender. Notably missing, is Norske Canada, who was proposing to develop generation facilities at some of their Vancouver Island mills. (link to related article)