December
8, 2005
Campbell's
Control of BC Hydro
Why
did the Campbell government suddenly order BC Hydro to cancel
the scheduled Thursday release of its Integrated Electricity
Plan (IEP)? Late on Wednesday, December 7, a media advisory
was sent out apologizing for the cancellation. Vancouver
Sun columnist Vaughn Palmer wrote that Energy and Mines
Minister Richard Neufeld gave Hydro the order.
Hydro's
website describes Integrated Electricity Plans:
"BC
Hydro provides an IEP every two years to its regulator,
the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC). Each time
BC Hydro undertakes a review of the plan, it may choose
to update the entire plan or focus on a particular part
of the plan. BC Hydro's most recent IEP was issued on March
31, 2004. The 2005 IEP will be completed by the end of 2005
(and will subsequently be completed every two years), to
support business planning and regulatory processes."
Hydro's
Service Plan makes 10 references to the provincial Energy
Plan which, according to a November 3, 2005 announcement
from Neufeld, will be finalized by the end of 2006. There
appears to be confusion at best, and a power struggle at
worst, between provincial officials and Hydro officials
- nothing new there!
It is
widely believed that the IEP which was pulled back would
have included the development
of Site C as a major component of the plan.
Several
of the possible explanations for postponing the scheduled
release of Hydro's IEP include:
1)
The Campbell government was sensitive to the concerns
of farmers in the Hudson's Hope;
2)
The Campbell government didn't want any interference in
what amounts to privatization
of Hydro by stealth (giving private power producers
40% of BC's electricity needs by 2020);
3)
The Campbell government may want to turn the mega-project
(over $2 billion) into a colossal public-private partnership,
thereby maintaining the privatization track;
4)
The Campbell government, as suggested by Palmer, may believe
that Site C is important and the Hydro announcement is
premature if the public is to be convinced.
One
thing is clear, just as the Campbell government misled the
public about BC Rail, its excuses about BC Hydro are now
exposed. It is not true that Hydro operates at arms-length
from government and is subject only to the oversight of
the BC Utility Commission. The government directly intervened
on the most important decision Hydro can make. It should
be honest and transparent enough to tell the public what
Hydro was going to say and the reason(s) Hydro was gagged.
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