Shawn Thomas, B.C. Hydro senior vice-president, once again faces the task of trying to lure another community into providing zoning for an industrial gas plant following the sound rejection Hydro/Calpine experienced in Port Alberni.
But B.C. Hydro and their American corporate partner Calpine can hardly believe their luck. They appear to have found at least some North Cowichan local officials prepared to fast-track rezoning without the bother of Hydro/Calpine having to face or explain the significant impacts to the public. Should the residents of Port Alberni have more rights to fair process and accountability than do the residents of the Cowichan Valley?
For well over a year B.C., Hydro representatives swore up and down that they recognized the existing pollution impacts of our challenged air shed and would not build a gas-generating facility here. Now, surprise, surprise the Hydro/Calpine forces are in panic mode to find a site to hold up before the National Energy Board GSX pipeline hearings in June.
In fairness, Thomas did concede that repairing the marine cable was an option and that the cables currently provide 80 per cent of our electricity. Is this not preferable to relying on NAFTA gas imported via the proposed GSX pipeline from Washington State to fuel polluting gas plants?
Maintaining the cable link is an economically viable, pollution free, sensible alternative to the billion-dollar boondoggle Hydro/Calpine and our provincial government is advancing with their Natural Gas Strategy. It was not supportable under the NDP and it is not supportable now.
We Islanders can't afford to lose control over our citizen-owned utility and become dependent on American controlled and distributed NAFTA-gas-fired power. We should not be risking our energy security or the negative economic, environmental and health impacts that would follow.
Richard Hughes,
Director,
Cowichan Valley Regional District,
Cobble Hill.