The Editor
I worked at Burrard for over 35 years. Unlike many independent power producers (IPP), Burrard Thermal can deliver firm power on demand any time of the year, making it ideal for peak loads and emergencies.
There is a glut of cheap gas on the market, so fuel supply and costs are not issues. Hydro is paying hundreds of millions of dollars a year for intermittent IPP power even if it is not always needed, so why is there an issue with spending $20 million a year to keep Burrard available as a firm power source?
In the mid-2000s, BC Hydro spent millions of dollars in upgrades to keep the facility as a viable standby plant.
If a 2000 megawatt combined cycle unit was integrated into the Burrard Thermal system replacing older units that were built in the early 1960s, we wouldn't have to flood thousands of acres of prime farming land up in the Peace River Region. A central heating plant could be built adjacent to Burrard Thermal and all the waste heat from the process could go directly into the new development going onto the 340 acres bought by a large land developer from Imperial Oil's buffer zone.
There is no long term planning going on any more like former B.C. Premier Bill 'Wacky' Bennett used to do.
Robert Hinkel
Port Moody, BC
