The Editor,
As Premier Clark and BC Hydro rush to make it appear that the Site C dam project cannot be stopped, she is at the same time attempting to encourage China and Japan to use B.C.-supplied natural gas.
Contrast this with the pending shutdown of the Burrard Thermal power plant in Port Moody. A facility located perfectly at the centre of the province’s electrical load, Burrard Thermal is currently connected to B.C.’s abundant supply of cheap, relatively clean-burning natural gas, as the premier will tell the world. The cost to operate it is very low as the plant was paid for years ago.
The premier needs to set an example for the would be customers of B.C.’s natural gas and put the Burrard Thermal plant into full service (when there is a requirement for additional generation) before proceeding further with the already over-budget Site C dam project, which is said to cost in the neighbourhood of $10 billion.
How can Premier Clark expect other countries to use B.C. gas to generate power if she won’t encourage the use of it here and instead insists on building a new dam downstream of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam, which requires serious remedial work?
(And as many BC Hydro projects have shown, the cost of the Site C Dam will likely double.)
As for the cost being too high to stop Site C now, any banker or accountant will tell you that on a poor investment, your first loss will always be your smallest.
If allowed to continue. this poor investment will increase rates for electricity to prohibitive levels for business and residential ratepayers. The premier should learn from Muskrat Falls experience in Newfoundland and Labrador and save ratepayers from increased hydro rates.
Bob Fedderly, Charlie Lake
