The Rise of Independent Power Producers, Explained
Colleen Kimmett, TheTyee.ca, April 30 2013
They split the enviro vote in 2009, but can they still spark trouble across the province?
BC Hydro rate policy could hinder LNG growth prospects as grid expansion costs become an issue
Scott Simpson, Vancouver Sun, April 11 2013
A BC Hydro policy that slaps extra costs onto major new industrial customers could prompt natural gas producers to “abandon their plans” to support an international LNG export industry, according to documents obtained by The Vancouver Sun.
BC Hydro watchdog decries power project exemption
Scott Simpson, Vancouver Sun, March 29, 2013
Provincial government pulls two projects from utility commission scrutiny
An energy watchdog group is alarmed by a government decision this week to exempt two major BC Hydro transmission projects from review by the B.C. Utilities Commission.
B.C. vows to continue fight over costly U.S. ruling on power sales to California
Canadian Press, Times Colonist, Feb 22 2013
VICTORIA - The massive, energy windfall British Columbia pocketed more than a decade ago at the expense of power-starved Californians has sparked an ongoing high-voltage legal case that currently has an arm of Crown-owned BC Hydro potentially owing hundreds of millions of dollars.
B.C. defends Powerex in California price-fixing complaint
CBC News, Feb 21, 2013
B.C. taxpayers could end up refunding Californians millions in electricity sales
The B.C. government and official opposition are defending a BC Hydro subsidiary that is accused of manipulating energy prices during the California energy crisis more than 12 years ago.
Mandatory smart meters? Not anymore
Ian Bailey, Globe and Mail, Jan 30, 2013
VANCOUVER —B.C. Hydro says it won’t install smart meters if households don’t want them, even after the B.C. Liberal government insisted for years that the program was mandatory.
Locked out workers question gas plant’s safety
Brian Kieran, Campbell River Mirror, November 06, 2012
Locked out employees of Campbell River’s Island Generation Plant say BC Hydro should be alarmed about potential safety issues at the natural gas-fired facility.
A wolf lurks at edge of IPP ‘green’ projects
Gwen Barlee, Vancouver Sun, September 17, 2012
When I was growing up my mother used to warn me to look out for a wolf in sheep’s clothing. What she meant was to be cautious about people and situations that are not what they seem. This idiom aptly applies to the issue of independent power projects (IPPs) in British Columbia.
Historic water levels put pressure on Hydro
By Gordon Hoekstra, Vancouver Sun, July 20, 2012
Heavy rains, higher-than-normal snowpack has increased stress on dams across the province
Melting snow and record rains have forced BC Hydro dam managers into an unprecedented balancing act this summer: spill water to keep dams at safe levels, but not so much that communities are flooded.
BC Government kills Feed-In Tariff program
BC Hydro, June 22 2012
In light of efforts to minimize electricity rate increases, the B.C. Government is not planning to proceed with the implementation of a British Columbia Feed-in Tariff (FIT) Regulation at this time.
The Regulation would require BC Hydro to establish a FIT program in accordance with the Clean Energy Act.
BC Hydro needs government policy changes
By Marvin Shaffer, Vancouver Sun, June 7, 2012
Though presented as part of its effort to protect families, the government's recently imposed cap on BC Hydro rate increases will not help British Columbians - families or otherwise. The cap on rates does nothing to reduce costs. At best it provides a short-term gain, but sooner or later BC Hydro will have to increase rates to match the increase in its costs.
Clean energy exports lose steam
By Vaughn Palmer, Vancouver Sun, June 5, 2012
Two years after the B.C. Liberals pushed BC Hydro to develop clean energy for export, the drive is all but dead, a victim of the changing economics of the North American electricity market.
Who's pulling Hydro's 'compliance' strings?
By Elizabeth James, North Shore News, May 30, 2012
"You know, maybe in a 1970s British sitcom it makes sense to buy power at $60 to $100 (per megawatt hour) and sell it at 20 cents to $17.60, but it certainly doesn't make sense for the people of British Columbia."
Adrian Dix, Hansard, 14 May, 2012
BC Hydro finances kept hidden
By Keith Baldrey, Surrey Now, May 29, 2012
There's a part of government that is spending gargantuan amounts of money, yet operates beyond the scrutiny normally applied to such operations.
BC Hydro looks to hydro, gas units to service LNG, mining projects
Rodney White, Platts, 29May2012
Washington -- Faced with "considerable" increases in electricity demand caused in large measure by pending LNG and mining projects, British Columbia's BC Hydro suggested Monday it may have to use more natural gas to produce power.
B.C. families to benefit from lower BC Hydro rates
NEWS RELEASE, Ministry of Energy and Mines, May 22, 2012
VANCOUVER – Minister of Energy and Mines Rich Coleman today announced the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) has been directed by the provincial government to reduce BC Hydro’s rate increases over three years by 50 per cent. This is consistent with last year’s BC Hydro review.
Booming natural-gas sector ignites debate over BC Hydro service
JUSTINE HUNTER, Globe and Mail, May 20, 2012
VICTORIA — Newcomers to British Columbia’s natural-gas sector may be denied access to BC Hydro’s electricity services as the province looks to curb costs for Hydro’s current customers.
Hydro awash in private power
By Scott Simpson, Vancouver Sun, May 11, 2012
B.C. Producers running flat out
After a bumper year for precipitation in the Pacific Northwest, BC Hydro stations around British Columbia are sitting idle while independent power producers run flat out.
Hydro must clarify its deal with U.S. utility
By Elizabeth James, North Shore News, May 9, 2012
Mercer International seeks NAFTA ruling on Hydro's electricity pricing policies
By GORDON HAMILTON, Vancouver Sun, May 1, 2012
Pulp company Mercer International has filed a $250 million claim against Canada under the North American Free Trade Agreement claiming it is being placed at a competitive disadvantage by BC Hydro.
Site C open house marked by protest
Sean Assor, Energicity.ca, April 18 2012
Anti-Site C protesters once again made their voices heard, as they gathered outside a B.C. Hydro public meeting last night. At Tuesday evening’s Project Definition Consultation and information session at the Pomeroy Hotel, a group of over ten protesters clearly demonstrated their views on the project to organizers and those in attendance.
Site C Clean Energy Project Public Comment Period and Open House Sessions
Public Notice, CEAA, April 10, 2012
Price of progress
Katelin Dean, Alaska Highway News, April 10, 2012
If it moves forward, Site C's construction will have a big impact right inside Fort St. John.
Something you might not know about BC Hydro rates
Geoff Plant, The Plant Rant, Feb 22, 2012
The usual job of a utilities commission is to protect consumers from high prices that might otherwise be charged by monopoly service providers. The utility asks for an X% increase, and the regulator gives it something less. So it was more than a little interesting when the BC Utilities Commission decided last week to increase electricity rates by nearly twice as much as BC Hydro had asked for (7.1% instead of 3.9%).
