Utility woes
There is an interesting note in BC Hydro’s quarterly report issued in mid October for the period ended June 30, 2017: These interim financial statements were approved on behalf of…
Norman Farrell
It will get worse for BC Hydro ratepayers
If you are paying attention to the affairs of BC Hydro, you know the utility is in financial trouble. However, it is electricity consumers that are feeling the pain. Unfortunately,…
Looking forward
I assume that logic and fact will prevail and Site C, the most expensive public project in BC history, will be cancelled. It is a costly disaster but BC Hydro…
Ending natural gas giveaways?
On the campaign trail, Christy Clark had some words while speaking in Fort St. John. She said: We have a party (the NDP) that doesn’t believe in natural gas. They…
Minimum transparency
According to BC’s Budget Transparency and Accountability Act, September 15 was the final day for BC Hydro to make public its quarterly report for the period ended June 30. It…
Site C – building a cesspool, not a reservoir
There are reasons why proponents of Site C, including utility executives and members of the former BC Liberal Government, continue to promote the project despite much evidence that it was…
R.I.P. Rafe Mair
Four years ago, I wrote about Dave Hardon, a former friend and business partner who was an important pioneer in British Columbia’s film and video industry. The article finished with:…
Blunders, haste and waste
BC Hydro’s Chris O’Riley may be new to the CEO’s chair, but he’s not new to the management of Site C. So, it is astounding that his letter to BCUC…
The Site C money pit
According to Financial Post writer Geoffrey Morgan, BC Hydro sent an October 3 communication to the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC). The letter explained why it continues to forecast a surge…
BC Hydro – overdue and unimproved
Policies of British Columbia’s public sector management dictate that: Crown corporations must follow the spirit and intent of B.C. government core policies and procedures and comply with all applicable legislation,…
Buy high, sell low – make up losses with volume
Originally published in December 2014. Is B.C.’s Site C dam a gateway to dirty energy?, Calyn Shaw, CBC News Network, December 22, 2014 The provincial government has made it clear…
Punditry rings hollow
I originally published A false notion in June 2010 and repeated it two years later. It came to mind after Postmedia’s senior west coast pundit wrote B.C. Hydro’s Site C…
Plug pulled on LNG
Today, China pulled the plug on Aurora LNG, the last large LNG project proposed for British Columbia. This comes 55 months after Christy Clark, leading her first general election campaign,…
A promise made…
In the May 2017 election, only two of the main parties committed to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. BC Liberals were uncomfortable with clauses related…
Dots that may connect – UPDATED
With news the BC Ferries vessel Spirit of British Columbia is about to sail to Europe for an extensive refit, I bump this article back to the top. When first…
We are the losers, who are the winners?
Brady Yauch is an economist at the Consumer Policy Institute (CPI), which identifies itself as “an independent think-tank dedicated to achieving lower costs and greater efficiencies for Canadian consumers, particularly…
Labour Day – Canadian heritage moment – Rerun
In modern times, the Canadian union movement has lost influence but not relevance. It is easy to forget that unions enabled a broad middle class. Workers in unionized company towns…
Before Clark, after Clark
When Encana’s founding CEO Gwyn Morgan became Christy Clark’s transition team advisor, natural gas producers knew they’d bet on a good thing. After six years of Clark, we now see…
When regulators don’t believe in regulation
When a new government takes office, there is often a significant change at senior levels of the civil service and among OIC political appointments. One person still employed by the…
R.I.P. Merv Adey
It’s a sad day today. I knew Merv had been seriously ill for some time. Four weeks ago, he was hoping that a series of new treatments would be successful…