In 2009, the Wilderness Committee issued a press release. Gwen Barlee and Joe Foy were prescient: “Requiring BC Hydro to purchase power that it doesn’t need is an idiotic decision and a gift to the private power industry. Three months ago, the BCUC said buying this power was not in
Continue readingTag: Power Generation
In-Sights: Wilderness destruction, only to enrich a few
Narrows Inlet by Duane Burnett: An almost pristine silent majestic oasis where the west coast rain forest mountains plunged straight into the fjord carved out by the last ice age, rich with so many salmon spawning you could almost walk across the water, and an area steeped with thousands of
Continue readingIn-Sights: Financial fraud at BC Hydro?
What is a deferred expense? The term “deferred expense” is used to describe a payment that has been made, but will not be reported as an expense until a future accounting period. In 2002, WorldCom, a company with a peak net worth of $100 billion, submitted the largest bankruptcy filing
Continue readingNorthern Insight / Perceptivity: Takin’ care of business, every day and every way
“This project is not ‘run-of-river.’ It involves draining alpine lakes by levels of 60 feet in depth, diverting waterfalls and clearcutting lineal swaths for power lines and penstocks. This will permanently industrialize a local pristine fjord for the sole purpose of private profit.” I read a letter to the editor
Continue readingNorthern Insight / Perceptivity: When the call screener makes life difficult
January 2, an unidentified caller chatted with CKNW Legislative reporter and talkshow host Sean Leslie, a man who happens to be spouse of a BC Liberal Government Communications Director, appointed by Order in Council, who has been paid more than $250,000 in the last three fiscal years. It won’t surprise
Continue readingNorthern Insight / Perceptivity: From the news archives: Site C history
Globe and Mail, October 4, 1979: British Columbia Hydro has announced plans to apply for approval for a hydro-electric power project at Site C on the Peace River… Globe and Mail, February 13, 1981: British Columbia Hydro has applied for a water licence to build the $1.95- billion Site C
Continue readingNorthern Insight / Perceptivity: Certainty of Site C cost overrun is 86%
BC’s Minister of Energy said in mid October that the $7.9 billion budget for Site C had been examined by top international experts and was assuredly “reliable.” Two months later, Premier Clark revealed the dam budget had jumped to $8.5 billion. Days passed and when project approval was announced, the
Continue readingNorthern Insight / Perceptivity: Lies my energy minister told me
October 15, I listened to Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett provide detailed assurance that, unlike budgets of numerous BC megaprojects that suffered runaway costs, the $7.9 billion Site C dam budget was final, fully reviewed by specialists and reliable because it included a contingency well above prudent amounts. Nothing
Continue readingNorthern Insight / Perceptivity: Careless or captured?
When you read or listen to resource industry advocates, especially ones masquerading as objective political pundits, compare their concerns in 2009 about burning natural gas to generate peak-demand electricity to their current support for burning natural gas to liquefy natural gas. The following was first published at Northern Insight on
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Patronage and private privilege – BC Liberal P3
By numerous measures — lower job and GDP creation, fewer public services and rapid expansion of public debt — BC Liberals are colossal failures. Most BC residents are unaware because the major accomplishment of this government is its mastery of disinformation as political strategy. With a breathtakingly large crew of
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Unparalleled, indeed
In 2009, the Vancouver Sun reported that BC Liberals intended to build “an electricity export industry unparalleled in B.C.’s 30-year history of power sales to the U.S.” Gordon Campbell was telling Americans, “We want British Columbia to become a leading North American supplier of clean, reliable, low-carbon electricity.” Immediately, the
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Who does the Government of BC serve?
I wrote previously about Narrows Inlet, a wilderness area 60 kilometres by air from Vancouver. I repeat Joan and Soren Bech’s submission to the Environmental Assessment Office because it is articulate and it relates to a major theme at this blog. The theme is a rhetorical question, “Who does the
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Guest post regarding Narrows Inlet
Submission to the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office regarding the proposed Narrows Inlet private power project Submitted by: Joan and Soren Bech Roberts Creek, B.C. Public consultation process On Oct. 12, we attended the Open House in Egmont, expecting to be able to provide comments on the NI
Continue readingNorthern Insight: More Narrows Inlet
Exploiters are taking us from HERE TO HERE If you want this to end, visit the website of British Columbia’s Environmental Assessment Office and voice your objections.
Continue readingNorthern Insight: War waged on wilderness
Read more HERE.
Continue readingBigCityLib Strikes Back: McGuinty’s Legacy
The Bruce Power revitalization program is an essential element to Ontario’s plan to phase out coal generation in 2014. Coal output over the past decade has dropped by nearly 90 per cent annually, while Bruce Power has increased its output by 55 per cent. This increased clean generation from the
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: 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: 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 reading