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Citizens for Public Power Statement

For more than 40 years BC Hydro has provided reliable, inexpensive and relatively clean electrical power to residents, small businesses and industry in British Columbia . While initial costs and environmental impacts were high, the publicly held crown corporation has come to provide substantial revenue to the provincial treasury – $700 million in 2003 alone.

For more than 40 years BC Hydro has provided reliable, inexpensive and relatively clean electrical power to residents, small businesses and industry in British Columbia . While initial costs and environmental impacts were high, the publicly held crown corporation has come to provide substantial revenue to the provincial treasury – $700 million in 2003 alone.

BC Hydro was a jewel in the world of power generation systems. It was a fully integrated utility –generation, transmission, services – that served the needs of British Columbians and gave industry a competitive advantage.
BC Citizens for Public Power advocate in favour of maintaining BC Hydro as a publicly held, fully integrated system of power production providing affordable, clean, reliable, renewable energy to the people of BC.

The BC Liberal government agenda calls for the dismantling and privatization of one of our province’s proudest success stories. The government has ceased to invest in BC Hydro. It is refusing to allow the utility to build new power plants and it has already privatized one third of its operations.

In November of 2002 the BC Liberal Government released its new energy policy. That policy said that massive changes to BC Hydro would not occur. In fact, over the past three years the BC Liberal government-
1. Privatized 1/3 of BC Hydro to Bermuda based Accenture
2. Broke-up BC Hydro into separate companies (creating BCTC)
3. Privatized all new power generation by imposing a ban on BC Hydro building any new power
4. Deregulated the electricity system, opening the door to private exports of energy and dramatically reducing the ability of future governments to plan and manage BC’s energy needs in the interests of its residents and undermining public control over the electricity system
5. Allowed the private sector to build transmission lines
6. Initiated the first in an ongoing series of yearly rate increases

All of these actions are the first steps in a much bigger project to completely dismantle BC Hydro. The consequences of these actions will hit average homeowners and small businesses, those who can least afford it, the hardest.
The costs are tremendous and are only beginning.
BC Citizens for Public Power has a different view of our energy future. Policy 2005 outlines five key policy points that will ensure an energy future that works for us all.

Policy 2005:- Five key points for an energy future that works for us all.
Policy 1. Return and maintain public ownership and control of electricity generation.

A. The advantages of public power have benefited residents and businesses of BC. We have enjoyed some of the lowest electricity rates in North America , returned billions of dollars of revenue to the province, created thousands of good jobs in BC and produced a stable source of clean, reliable energy.

POLICY ACTION: Reaffirm a commitment to public power and BC Hydro.

B. Despite its demonstrated ability to produce power cheaper and more reliably than the private sector, BC Hydro has been banned from building any new sources of power. Under this policy, all new future power must be purchased from private energy companies at much higher prices.

POLICY ACTION: Lift the ban on BC Hydro and allow it to build new generating facilities.

C. The transmission system is a highway for electrons. It has been built to enable BC to maximize the benefits of its existing electricity generating system. However, private interests now want future transmission additions to focus on providing opportunities for energy exports and energy trading, regardless of whether such costly additions benefit BC customers. To ensure low cost and reliable transmission of power, this highway system should be owned and operated free of private interests.

POLICY ACTION: All transmission lines, new and existing, should be publicly owned and operated.

D. The deal to privatize 1/3 of employees and operations of BC Hydro to Bermuda-based Accenture was signed without regulatory approval and the details have been kept secret from the public. Are British Columbians receiving good value? Is Accenture living up to its commitments? Is our privacy secure?

POLICY ACTION: A full and independent investigation into the Accenture deal.

Policy 2. Ensure security and reliability of electricity.
A. In British Columbia , we should be able to design our electricity system to best serve British Columbians. But, the American Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is using its authority to promote deregulation and privatization of energy throughout North America . This threatens our ability to control and manage our electricity system and maintain BC’s current low rates.

POLICY ACTION: Maintain control of our transmission system and not surrender control of any part of our system to foreign-controlled organizations.

B. The needs of BC’s domestic customers for reliable, secure and inexpensive electricity should be the government’s key priority. Yet, instead, the Liberal energy policy is promoting private export of power. This creates local environmental problems, requires additional construction of transmission lines, and ultimately results in BC residents competing with US customers for BC generated electricity. It also negatively affects job growth, especially in the regions. For example, Alcan has shifted from using electricity in the production of aluminum in B.C. to the export of electricity when prices in the US were high. This has cost jobs and hurt the town of Kitimat .

POLICY ACTION: Prohibit the private export of electricity.

Policy 3. Promote conservation and green energy.
A. Conserving energy helps preserve our environment, reduces reliance on imports and private electricity sources, and keeps rates low. These investments will not only conserve energy, they will reduce energy costs for taxpayers in the future.

POLICY ACTION : Increase Power Smart conservation targets by encouraging efficient customer practices and replacement technologies (like energy efficient fridges and lights) that use less energy. Increase energy conservation investments in schools, hospitals and provincial taxpayer supported infrastructure.

B. In the last two years, the government and BC Hydro have provided tens of millions of dollars in subsidies to companies such as Weyerhauser and Canfor to support these companies becoming energy producers instead of energy consumers. While labeled as Power Smart initiatives, these load displacement subsidies do nothing to reduce the use of electricity. Instead, they transfer production of energy from BC Hydro to private companies. This is not an energy conservation program at all, but simply a subsidy program for big industry.

POLICY ACTION: End ‘load displacement’ subsidies for private industry.

C. Small hydro, wind, tidal and other forms of renewable energy should be an important part of BC’s energy future. The resources and expertise of BC Hydro should used to promote this vision.

POLICY ACTION: Create a “Green Energy Division” within BC Hydro to promote and build small hydro, wind, tidal, and other forms of renewable energy.

D. Global warming and greenhouse gas emissions are a serious concern. BC has sufficient resources not to have to rely on fossil fuels and nuclear technology for electricity generation.

POLICY ACTION: Continue to promote use of renewable sources of electricity.

E. The number of small scale private power projects is growing rapidly throughout the province. While local environmental impact studies have been conducted, there has been no overall assessment of the cumulative environmental impact of these projects.

POLICY ACTION: Conduct a provincial environmental assessment of all private power projects.

F. BC should be a leader in developing new and more environmentally sensitive technologies for electricity production. This requires new research and the development of expertise on these technologies here in BC.

POLICY ACTION: Develop a new program, based in BC’s universities that would focus on
research and development of environmentally responsible energy technologies.

Policy 4. Maintain low rates.
A. Public ownership and control of our electricity system has kept rates low for residents and businesses. This is because our prices are based on the cost of production, not on some artificially manipulated market price. Already, the privately produced electricity that BC Hydro is required, by government, to purchase at market rates is driving up the cost of our electricity. Even small rate increases have huge impacts on the BC economy. In jurisdictions where markets set the price of power, electricity prices are significantly higher than in B.C.

POLICY ACTION: Maintain public ownership and control of our electricity so that we can ensure prices continue to be based on the cost of production and not on what the market will bear.

Policy 5. Guarantee improved public oversight and public accountability.
A. Currently, private energy companies do not need to justify their costs or meet energy efficiency standards like BC Hydro does. Yet because BC Hydro is barred from building new generating facilities, British Columbians must pay for the high costs of new private energy without knowing if the private sector is performing efficiently and without having any effective oversight of the decisions of private energy companies.

POLICY ACTION:Increase public oversight of private energy companies. There should be no private energy development unless it is proven more efficient than public power.

B. BC Hydro and our energy resources belong to the people of the province. When significant changes are made, they affect all of us and we should have an increased role in ensuring our electricity system in managed in our best interests.

POLICY ACTION: Enact standards for public consultation and consent before any significant changes are made to BC Hydro.

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