Terrance Heath writes a story of frequent and ruinous power outages in territory served by The Potomac Electric Power Company, a utility supplying electricity to Washington, D.C. and surrounding communities in Maryland. For reasons that should be obvious, Business Insider ranked Pepco the most hated company in America. Powerless: Conservative
Continue readingTag: BC Hydro
Northern Insight: Our pending meltdown
Are BC Liberals about to drag taxpayers into another economic calamity? Something akin to BC Hydro’s private power initiative, where government has taken near $50 billion of financial risk and guaranteed abundant profits to private energy promoters. [Russia’s] Gazprom Biggest Loser as Shale Gas Upends World Markets, Bloomberg Businessweek, June
Continue readingNorthern Insight: No news is likely bad news
With the first quarter of British Columbia’s current fiscal year ending, public agencies and crown corporations will soon release annual reports and audited financials for the year ended March 31, 2012. A vast quantity of money is wasted, filling these PR publications with purple prose and graphics that few persons
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Liberal’s own fast ferry
Last August, Chad Skelton of the Vancouver Sun reported on a conference call between BC Hydro president Dave Cobb and senior staff. Cobb said the utility was being forced by Liberal policy to pay private power producers huge sums for unneeded electricity. ” ‘If it doesn’t change, it would be
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Screw the needy, our money goes elswhere
“…complicit in a complex web of legal, administrative and political strategies designed to forward a multi-billion dollar infrastructure development program to enrich the largest most profitable companies on earth at the expense of our Province’s autonomy, economy and environment…” Does this describe BC’s Liberal government serving the people who elected
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Coleman regulates the ‘independent’ regulator
if we needed more evidence that BC Hydro has become the tool of financial pirates, Rich Coleman provided it Tuesday with news that public hearings scheduled to begin a month from now are cancelled. As Vaughn Palmer writes, “The commission had to approve the rate increase sought by BC Hydro
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Add to your bookmarks
Keep your eyes on 2010 Gold Rush – News and Views on Vancouver 2010 (And Beyond) From Bob Mackin. On Twitter, follow hashtag #LiquorLeaks as Bob reports on Liberal friends maneuvering to take over the province’s lucrative liquor distribution system. Don’t expect corporate media to follow this story. They will
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Debt history of BC Hydro
BC Liberals and their media surrogates regularly accuse BC’s NDP government of responsibility for “skyrocketing spending and debt.” Not that it matters to Liberal supporters, but we can determine if the aspersion is based on fact. Exhibit 1: a graph of BC Hydro debt guaranteed by taxpayers: It seems that
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Evidence of corruption mounts
Economist Erik Andersen, writing at The Common Sense Canadian, contemplates why BC Hydro “indulged in its aggressive contracting with Independent Power Producers in BC when domestic demand increases are non-existant.” I suggest you read through Andersen’s material, then consider whether or not a small number of corporations, enabled by Gordon
Continue readingNorthern Insight: $1.28 billion over the next four years
GOVERNMENT ENERGY POLICY AND ELECTRICITY GENERATION COSTS A. Dix: My question is to the Minister of Energy. The government’s energy policy has stripped away B.C. Hydro’s ability to capitalize on the high water flow as we’re experiencing this spring. As a result, our public utilities are being forced, as a
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Taxpayers carry financial risks for IPPs
In Kleptocracy: rule by thieves, I repeated news that BC Hydro spent $676 million with private power producers. Through idiocy or corruption, the public utility has been forced to buy electricity it did not and does not need, some of it at prices five times market. Taxpayers’ irrecoverable losses could
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Chapter from Heller’s Catch-22 ?
A comment that speaks for itself from the article Kleptocracy – rule by thieves: “I installed a 10 kW wind turbine on my Okanagan property 3 years ago, buying into the BC government’s Live Smart/Green program. Imagine my surprise–as an independent power producer–when I was ineligible for the B.C. “incentive”
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Kleptocracy: rule by thieves
BC Liberals claim to be the “free enterprise” party of British Columbia but scams in play at BC Hydro are not examples of free enterprise. These are old fashion economic frauds committed by amoral thieves who have been enabled and protected by docile and dishonest politicians. There have been a
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Liberal MLA Bloy embarrasses the Legislature
John Horgan, critic for energy, mines and petroleum resources, spoke to the Legislature Monday about directing the B.C. Utilities Commission to do a full and comprehensive review of the Smart Metering Program: ” …during the budget estimates in 2009… I asked [the then Minister of Energy] to give me an
Continue readingNorthern Insight: The word is malfeasance, AKA theft
http://saveourrivers.tv/powerplay_player5.html Protect salmon habitat? Protect BC consumers? Protect BC taxpayers? No way. H/T John W.
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Bring on the consultants, part 1
How CEOs Jack Up their Pay, Kimberly Weisul, Editor & Founder of One Thing New: “(MoneyWatch) Poor, downtrodden, underpaid CEOs finally have someone they can turn to in their hour of need: compensation consultants. “… research … suggests there’s a simple way to boost their pay. Just call in the
Continue readingAusterity for me but not for thee?
Today the news sites are jam packed with interesting tidbits about government spending and the disparity of wealth in this country. First out of the gate is the fact that CEO’s and CFO’s earned the median Canadian income by noon today. According to a report by economist Hugh Mackenzie, of
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: New Report: CCPA and the Wilderness Committee on BC’s "Reckless" Desire to Frack
Screen shot 2011-11-09 at 9.57.36 PM.png
If British Columbia wants to pursue economic, environmental and human health then the province must slow its furious pace of unconventional gas production…
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Liberals reward immorality
Without ethical foundations, leadership in government is merely random wandering among infinite possibilities. A whim of yesterday had value then but none today. No one knows what will be expedient tomorrow.
I wrote earlier a belief that Gordon Camp…
Continue readingPrivacy
The unelected premier of BC. Christie Clark and her caucus are trying to ram through changes to the Privacy Act. According to an article written by Rob Shaw, of Postmedia.
The proposed legislation would make it easier for government to share people’s private information across ministries, something the current law prohibits. Government officials . . . → Read More: Privacy
Continue reading