Four communities switch to Hydro grid
By Kim Pemberton, Vancouver Sun February 10, 2012
Four B.C. first nations com-munities that were relying on diesel generation for their power will be converting to electrical as part of BC Hydro's new smart meter program.
Natural gas fuelling new economic opportunities
News Release, Premier's Office, Feb 3 2012
VANCOUVER - Premier Christy Clark today announced British Columbia's natural gas strategy will be established on a foundation of four priorities for long-term economic prosperity under the BC Jobs Plan.
Clark softens approach to sustainability as part of B.C.'s new energy strategy
By Jonathan Fowlie, Vancouver Sun, February 3, 2012
VICTORIA - Premier Christy Clark is making over her predecessors approach to energy self sufficiency to help make way for a significant expansion in the production of liquefied natural gas.
B.C. abandons self-sufficient energy plan
Justine Hunter, Globe and Mail, Feb. 03, 2012
Victoria — British Columbia will abandon its current commitment to move the province back to a position of energy self-sufficiency, Premier Christy Clark is announcing today.
The watered-down version of the policy is being rolled out as part of a new energy strategy aimed at fuelling a new liquefied natural gas industry.
California clean air regulations could “wipe out” Hydro’s export revenues
By Gordon Hamilton, Vancouver Sun, January 4, 2012
California’s new carbon cap-and-trade regulations, which came into effect Jan. 1, will require BC Hydro’s power exporting arm to buy costly carbon credits on its energy exports beginning in January, 2013, likely wiping out Hydro’s primary export market and increasing the cost of electricity to B.C. consumers in the process, a B.C. energy economist said Tuesday.
Smart meters an uncontrolled experiment on public health in B.C.
By Geoff Olson, Courier, December 8, 2011
Lab rats right to call for referendum
This week, The City of North Vancouver called on the provincial government to halt plans to install smart meters or allow the program’s inspection by the B.C. Utilities Commission. In California, 43 cities, towns or counties have publicly opposed the devices, with 11 jurisdictions banning them outright. Are civic leaders bowing to pressure from paranoid Luddites, or are they wising up to a multibillion-dollar boondoggle that’s outfitting homes with fry-and-spy devices? Or is the answer huddling somewhere in between the contending claims?
Scientists slam Nelson office closure
By Greg Nesteroff, Nelson Star, November 28, 2011
More than 40 scientists and land management professionals have signed a letter to BC Hydro protesting the closure of the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program’s Nelson office.
Burning trees for energy puts Canadian forests and climate at risk
Greenpeace, November 2, 2011
Greenpeace released a science-based report today that highlights the dangers of the large-scale use of wood and tree harvesting for heating, electricity generation or liquid biofuels. The report, entitled ‘Fuelling a Biomess’, argues that burning woody biomass on an industrial scale could severely harm Canada’s public forests and further contribute to the global climate crisis.
Burning wood waste for energy not entirely a clear-cut call
By Gordon Hamilton, Vancouver Sun, November 5, 2011
Debate continues over use of forest debris to develop bioenergy industry
Forest management in British Columbia is coming under scrutiny as the province's drive to develop a bioenergy industry moves into the beetlekilled pine stands of the central Interior.
Hydro’s tricky books bad news for public
By Paul Willcocks, Trail Daily Times, November 10, 2011
When B.C. Hydro reported a profit of $447 million last year, you probably thought the Crown corporation took in more money than it spent.
Nope. On that basis, Hydro lost $249 million.
COPE 378 Releases Alternative BC Hydro Rate Review Report
Media Release, COPE 378, November 9, 2011
Energy, public policy experts urge government action to save BC Hydro
Too many parallels to HST debacle in smart meter rollout
Justine Hunter, Globe and Mail, Nov. 03, 2011
While the B.C. government was busy with what now stands as the province’s worst example of government communications on a major public policy – selling the harmonized sales tax – it discouraged BC Hydro from distracting the public with a sales job of its own.
Auditor General sounds alarm over BC Hydro accounting
JUSTINE HUNTER, Globe and Mail, Oct. 27, 2011
VICTORIA— BC Hydro is keeping rates artificially low by funnelling billions of dollars in expenses into deferral accounts, the province’s auditor general says.
Hydro ploy may hike costs for users
Editorial, Vancouver Sun, October 29, 2011
Let's be clear - B.C. Auditor-General John Doyle's latest report on BC Hydro is not about a dispute over arcane accounting rules.
BC Hydro: The Effects of Rate-Regulated Accounting
Auditor General of BC, October 2011
This report examines the implications of BC Hydro's use of rate-regulated accounting, which allows BC Hydro to establish deferral accounts into which it can "defer" expenses to future years.
Energy and Mines Minister Rich Coleman on Voice of BC
Cheap power comes at a price
By Marvin Shaffer, Vancouver Sun, October 25, 2011
BC Hydro will lose millions supplying new mines and LNG facilities; losses that will be passed on to consumers
Liberals’ dumb response to smart-meter opposition could prove their Waterloo
By Stephen Hume, Vancouver Sun, October 24, 2011
Smart meters emerge as a policy Waterloo for the Liberals and could become nails in Premier Christy Clark’s political coffin.
BC Hydro plays NAFTA card in bid to win green status in California
By Gordon Hamilton, Vancouver Sun, October 21, 2011
Energy-trading arm claims clean-energy exemption for U.S. power supplier is discriminatory
BC Hydro CEO Dave Cobb makes unexpected departure
By Scott Simpson and Jonathan Fowlie, Vancouver Sun, October 20, 2011
New position with Jim Pattison Group too good to pass up, he says
Dave Cobb is stepping down as president and CEO of BC Hydro to take a job with the Jim Pattison Group, less than 17 months after he joined the Crown utility.
Clark’s jobs plan needs huge power hike, BC Hydro says
Justine Hunter, Globe and Mail, Oct. 10, 2011
VICTORIA— The industrial mega projects that provide the backbone of Premier Christy Clark’s jobs plan will require a huge increase in British Columbia’s electricity capacity – the equivalent of nearly three new Site C dams.
How Power is Acquired
BC Hydro, Oct 6, 2011
About independent power projects
Since the 1980s, BC Hydro has been acquiring power from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to help meet its customers' electricity needs. IPPs develop and operate power projects using sources such as wind, water, biomass and waste heat, among others. IPPs include companies that specialize in power production, municipalities, First Nations and customers, working alone or in partnership.
Jumbo, Glacier/Howser still in limbo: new Major Projects BC website
by Editor, Nelson Daily, 09 Oct 2011
Jumbo Glacier Resort is now listed as inactive while Glacier Howser Energy’s hydroelectric dam is suspended, according to the new Major Projects BC website released late last week.
Liberals think we're not the brightest bulbs
By Paul Willcocks, Times-Colonist, October 5, 2011
Smart meters were expected to be a big deal at the UBCM meeting in Vancouver.
The surprise was Solicitor General Shirley Bond's bombshell revelation that the federal government had issued a takeit-or-leave-it final offer for a new 20-year RCMP contract.
B.C.'s new northern industries will need twice the electricity that was forecast by B.C. Hydro
By Gordon Hamilton, Vancouver Sun, October 4, 2011
The rapid industrialization of northern B.C. is going to create almost double the demand for electricity estimated by BC Hydro, making it virtually impossible for the province to meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets, according to the Canadian Wind Energy Association.

















