Tag Archives: Water and Energy

Tanker Ban: The Vote to Protect BC’s Fragile North Coast

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Nathan Cullen is the member of Parliament for the riding of Skeena-Bulkley Valley

 
BY NATHAN CULLEN, VANCOUVER SUN

Last week the House of Commons spent some hours debating an issue uniquely West Coast but also critical to Canada: whether or not we need a legislated ban on supertanker traffic plying the waters of BC’s north and central coast. The vote will be cast Tuesday.

It’s not often that Canada’s Parliament looks across the Rockies to cast an opinion on a debate that is familiar and passionate to those of us fortunate to live in this stunningly beautiful province.

New Democrats have long suggested that the vagueness of the Federal government’s policy towards tankers on the coast creates an environment of damaging uncertainty not just for business but more importantly for the people of the coast.

Read full op-ed by Nathan Cullen in the Vancouver Sun here

 
 Last week the House of Commons spent some hours debating an issue uniquely West Coast but alcritical to Canada: whether or not we need a legislated ban on supertanker traffic plying the waters of BC’s north and central coast. The vote will be cast TuesdayIt’s not often that Canada’s Parliament looks across the 

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Mad as Hell About Bogus Hydro Rate Increases

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It must be a good
line because this is the third time in a week I’ve used H.L. Mencken’s great
line “Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit upon his hands,
hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.” After reading the
news item that BC Hydro is asking to raise its rates by 27% for upgrading their
facilities, then reading the next day it was 55% for “badly needed projects” I
found myself once more reaching for my trusty cutlass.  

Is there no end to
what we’re asked to believe? John Horgan, NDP Energy critic, was bang-on when
he linked this to the outrageous $50 BILLION that BC
Hydro owes Independent Power Producers (IPPs) for dams that destroy our rivers
and send power not to BC Hydro but to the United States. Would that the
NDP deals with private power in stark, unadorned English instead of the sloppy
diarrhea that oozes from its program as laid down a few days ago by their now
soon to be former leader. 

How dumb do they
think we are? Are we to believe that there’s a magic energy fairy at the bottom
of the garden who will give Hydro that $50 Billion and rising? This is close
to, if not there, plain fraud.  

The plain fact is
that every householder not courting bankruptcy knows that you cannot hide a
massive debt that is going to build IPPs on our dime, then soak Hydro (meaning
us, folks) to the heavens when it’s forced to buy private power that they don’t
need. 

I want to say this
succinctly and in plain English. Our BC Hydro, one of the best
energy companies in the world, has no need of more energy yet is forced to buy
power from IPPs that they don’t need – meaning they either sell it on the
market for ½ or less of what they pay for it or use it instead of their own
power at 12 times their own cost of making it. 

 All together,
now, let’s read that paragraph again and march to our nearest antique shop for
cutlasses. 

One would think – at
least an outsider not au fait with BC politics might – that some politician
would take up the cudgels on our behalf! (By the way, if you’re sensitive to
bloodshed, buy a cudgel rather than a cutlass). Here we have a Liberal
leadership with half a dozen or more candidates and not a word will be uttered
about the following: IPPs, farmed salmon, destruction of agricultural land, oil
pipelines and tankers filled with Tar Sands sludge. Not a peep will you hear!
Not a word even in defence because none of them has the guts to even defend
Liberal policies much less oppose them. 

In the unlikely event
that the NDPs recover enough to be in the hunt in the next election, where the
hell is their courage? 

I’ll tell you where.
The NDP’s now soon-to-depart leader, Carole James, has been reaching out to the
business community, as if that has a chance, and doesn’t want to unduly worry
the captains of industry who look upon the environmental disgraces given us by
Pinocchio Campbell & company as great steps forward. 

Ms has James talked
about the IPP fixes in terms of “sanctity of contract.” These deals are
more like those of a hoodlum mayor of a city who hands out plush contracts to
his brother-in-law – they would make “Boss Tweed” of New York, “Boss
Prendergast” of Kansas City, or Chicago’s Richard Daleys, pere
et fils, blush with pride yet the NDP position is “sanctity of contract!” 

What are the options we’re
left with? 

One is to join one of
the major parties and try to make them change their policy. That should be a
remedy but, alas, it won’t work. Political parties are run by the few at the
top and all resolutions they don’t like are either not brought forward for
debate or are so watered down as to be pre-digested mush. 

Another would be to
support the Greens, something I would do in a flash if I thought they could
even win a seat but they can’t and won’t. The Greens, decent honourable people
who want to save and protect the environment often get anger with me at public
meetings when I say this but have no answer when I point out that after 25
years they haven’t elected a soul, indeed haven’t even been close. (At a recent
speech I gave in Courtenay, a “Green” lady went to the floor mic, obviously
annoyed at what I had said, and said this:- the reason the Green Party hasn’t
elected anybody is that they don’t get enough votes!” God’s truth! 

You could encourage
and join a third “middle-of-the-road”

Party if one comes
forward. The logical people to make this happen are Chris Delaney and/or Gordon
Wilson. Delaney already has a party, BC First, and if meat can be put on those
bones it becomes a rational option.

There is something,
however, we all can do and indeed must do – raise Hell; such Hell that whoever
runs for office will know that the electorate is white hot with anger. We must
show all politicians that we will take action no matter where the latest
environmental abuse occurs – action even including civil disobedience. We must
do this even if it isn’t the particular “outrage” that grabs us most.

Damien and I have
started to tour the province and starting next February we will bring our
presentation, including videos, a local voice, and my own.

Let me close with
this: you can always get rid of a bad government and restore the economy with
another.

What you can’t do is
get the environment back – once lost it stays lost.

If you haven’t
started to fight yet, now’s a very good time to start. If you have started, it’s
a great time to intensify the fight and encourage others to do the same.

We have a long way to go and the bad guys have
all the money. Yet, if we all do decide with sharpened cutlasses to get into
the fight and stay with it, we can and will beat the bastards and leave a
legacy for future generations.

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Bute Inlet Private Power Proposal – Update

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An excellent summary by Lannie Keller from Friends of Bute Inlet of the campaign to stop the largest proposed private hydro power project in Canadian history – GE and Plutonic Power’s plan to dam and divert 17 rivers at the head of Bute Inlet on the Sunshine Coast. Lannie updated the crowd at the “Take Back Our BC” event on Quadra Island on November 7, about the latest details of the 1,027 megawatt proposal (worth at least $20 Billion to the corporations involved) and the citizen campaign to save the ecologically diverse and visually spectacular Bute.

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Save BC Hydro!

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Thanks to the work of economist Erik Andersen we have a much clearer view of what the Campbell government has done to British Columbia Hydro, what they are obviously going to do, and what the consequences will be.

 
BC Hydro is, so to speak, an integral part of the Province’s family jewels. It was created by Premier W.A.C. Bennett to be a tool of government policy. Bennett could see that if BC was to develop it had to have cheap, available electric power, so he implemented the “Two Rivers Policy,” whereby large electric dams were built on the Peace and Columbia Rivers. This was at a huge environmental cost but it produced just what Bennett wanted – cheap, available and uninterrupted electric power. His success was little short of miraculous.
 
Let’s look at what’s happened in the past decade. Our great public power company has been forced to make unconscionable bargains with private companies (IPPs) which dam our rivers and sell the power to BC Hydro when they are able to do so, i.e. their rivers are high enough, which is mostly during the period BC Hydro has lots of electricity and full reservoirs.

Here’s the kicker (to our backside, big time): this means that BC Hydro faces two options – it can export this power at half or less than they paid for it, or they can use it at 12 times what they can make it for themselves. (this is your business oriented government at work, folks!)
 
Clearly, this state of affairs can only be dealt with in two ways – BC Hydro goes broke or we pay enormously increased electricity bills. In fact, if BC Hydro is sold or goes broke, the public loses all control and we get huge increases anyway.
 
What we have from Erik Andersen is confirmation of this catastrophe. Erik has also taken a look at some of the accounting “methods” of BC Hydro.
 
For example, the BC Auditor-General has had a similar look. The books disclose how Hydro in fiscal 2009 went from a real loss of about $700 million to a “profit” of about $550 Million. (When you’ve read this, try it on your own bank manager). 
 
Here’s what they do. They have what they call a “Regulated Asset Account”. (I warn you that the old shell game is going to look honest in comparison). They then take their expenses for that year and bundle this into the RAA and, because we the taxpayers pay BC Hydro’s bills, make this RAA into an “Account Receivable” and, are you ready for this, it becomes an asset (based on their ability to jack up our power bills to cover the difference) and POOF! There go their losses. The Auditor General has told BC Hydro not to do that anymore!!
 
How much is involved in this (in Andersen’s words) “hanky panky?”
 
Hold onto your hats again. In 2005 the amount in the RAA was zero – now it’s about $4 BILLION. This scheme is, according to Andersen, a “reckless endangerment” to the province and BC Hydro.
 
Why is this happening?
 
Mr. Andersen states the obvious, which is important because the government won’t. Andersen points out that this simply cannot be accidental – therefore BC Hydro must be being deliberately set up to fail.
 
What we have from Erik Andersen’s work is confirmation that BC Hydro is going down the tube and will only last as long as it can continue to raise our rates in order to stay afloat!
 
One is reminded of an adage of Woody Allen’s which I’ve cited, only changing “world” to “BC Hydro”:
 
“More than any time in history BC Hydro faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total extinction. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly.”
 
If, like the Campbell Liberals, you want BC Hydro privatized – because you believe in the Fraser Institute’s doctrine that publicly-owned assets must go to private companies – it doesn’t matter much whether you sell or abandon. The numbers with BC Hydro are huge on both sides of the ledger but its actual profit is only big time if a private owner can own it and run it free of government intervention. It is for that very reason W.A.C. Bennett bought ought the BC Electric Company and created BC Hydro.
 
From the Liberals’ point of view, selling off BC Hydro, after the fuss the public made when BC Rail was sold, makes no political sense, making bankruptcy a more attractive way to go.
 
Thus it’s clear that to save our rivers and their ecologies, we must save BC Hydro. 
 
To save BC Hydro, we must all get angry as hell and, in every way we can, take that message not only to the Liberal government but the NDP as well. From every corner of the province must come the cry “Save Our BC Hydro!”
 
The government must know, with no room for doubt, that not one more IPP project will be permitted and that we will take every available measure to stop them – starting right now!
 
 

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Face to Face with Big Trouble at BC Hydro

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We at The Common Sense Canadian strongly urge you to see economist Erik Anderson demonstrate how the
Campbell government is deliberately bankrupting BC Hydro!

Victoria Community TV Presents:

Face to Face with Big Trouble at BC Hydro

Retired economist Erik Anderson discusses a
troubling and possibly sinister financial situation
at BC Hydro. And he asks: Is BC Hydro being put in
financial jeopardy in order to privatize it. This
is shocking and almost unbelievable stuff and must
be seen by all. Once again we see the Media and the
NDP silent, the government corrupt, and our future
being put at great risk. The stage is being set for
something that may make the BC Rail fraud look
small.

On Channel 11 in Victoria and Saltspring Island …

Saturday, Nov. 27 at 11AM and 11:30PM
Sunday, Nov 28 at 10AM and 9PM

Face to Face with Jack Etkin #48: Erik Anderson from ICTV Victoria on Vimeo.

… and in order to really get what he is saying, you
should watch this more than once…

Produced by Lazarus Productions

ICTV can be reached at jetkino AT yahoo.ca

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Why Is Canada Freezing out Geothermal Power?

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Canadians are some world’s best at advanced exploration
and drilling technologies. Not surprisingly, members of the Canadian
Geothermal Energy Association (CanGEA) also produce more than 20 per cent
of the world’s geothermal energy. They just don’t do it here. The
almost complete absence of government support means that all of this
green energy infrastructure in being installed somewhere else. That’s
right — the total geothermal energy capacity in Canada is zero. 

That is a shame, considering that
geothermal energy is a clean, continuous base-load power whose source is
the virtually unlimited heat from our planet’s interior. Unlike other
renewables such as wind or solar, geothermal plants can operate 24 hours
a day, rain or shine. 

While the upfront costs for geothermal can be considerable, it is ultimately very cheap energy. According to CanGEA chair and founder Alison Thompson, “it has the lowest levelized cost of any power source in the world, even coal.”

Canada’s advantage

Thompson points out the ironic reason
Canadians are so good at geothermal is because there has been so much
focus here on fossil fuel extraction. “I come from the oil patch. We
have developed enormous expertise in advanced exploration and drilling
techniques. These are exactly the skills you need to develop geothermal
resources.”

So if Canadians are among the best
geothermal experts in the world, why aren’t they doing business here?
“Most of our membership are die-hard Canadian entrepreneurs, but they
are forced to operate in other countries because there is so little
support for the industry here. We are just so frustrated that it doesn’t
need to be like this.”

Read full Tyee article here

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World Bank Quietly Funding Massive Corporate Water Grab

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Billions have been spent allowing
corporations to profit from public water sources even though water
privatization has been an epic failure in Latin America, Southeast Asia,
North America, Africa and everywhere else it’s been tried. But don’t
tell that to controversial loan-sharks at the World Bank. Last month, its private-sector funding arm International Finance Corporation (IFC) quietly dropped a cool 100 million euros ($139 million US) on Veolia Voda, the Eastern European subsidiary of Veolia, the world’s largest private water corporation. Its latest target? Privatization of Eastern Europe’s water resources.

“Veolia
has made it clear that their business model is based on maximizing
profits, not long-term investment,” Joby Gelbspan, senior program
coordinator for private-sector watchdog Corporate Accountability International,
told AlterNet. “Both the World Bank and the transnational water
companies like Veolia have clearly acknowledged they don’t want to
invest in the infrastructure necessary to improve water access in
Eastern Europe. That’s why this 100 million euro investment in Veolia
Voda by the World Bank’s private investment arm over the summer is so
alarming. It’s further evidence that the World Bank remains committed to
water privatization, despite all evidence that this approach will not
solve the world’s water crisis.”

Read full Alternet article here

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“Energy purchase agreement not financially viable,” says AXOR

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A spokesman for AXOR, the company behind the Glacier/Howser
hydroelectric project, says the energy purchase agreement was cancelled
because it was no longer financially viable and delays in the project
were to blame.

BC Hydro and Purcell Green Power,
AXOR’s company set up to run the project, signed the energy purchase
agreement in 2006. That agreement was only partially indexed to
inflation, says Simon Gourdeau, project manager for AXOR’s energy
division.

“So every year of delay basically makes the contract less and less interesting financially,” Gourdeau told the Nelson Post.
“As time goes by basically how much you get paid for the power
basically decreases and after a certain while it becomes financially not
interesting from our part.”

When the energy purchase agreement was first signed, AXOR planned to
have the Glacier/Howser facility up and running by November 2010.

Read full Nelson Post article here


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Glacier-Howser Contract Canceled!

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To those of us fighting to save our rivers around the province from the Campbell private power program, the recent revelation of the cancelation of a billion-dollar-plus purchase contract with BC Hydro was big news. But you wouldn’t know it from the mainstream media. In fact, a google search yields barely a trace – save for the independent Kootenay online paper, the Nelson Post, who reported on it this past Friday.

The 40-year energy purchase agreement for a proposed 5-river diversion project, near the town of Meadow Creek, was obtained back in 2006 by Axor Group, of the wealthy Dupont family, long before the environmental assessment process that would see thousands of citizens turn out in opposition to the proposal and a record-breaking thousand-plus submissions to the environmental assessment office. It appears this outpouring of protest helped delay the project to the point where Axor was about to begin incurring substantial penalties for not having the project completed as per their contractual commitment. Based on statements made by the company today, it appears they have been let out of their contract in advance of these penalties and are now looking to renegotiate a better deal with BC Hydro!

Back in 2009, when Axor Group (who we saw were really in charge of the provincial environmental review, not their sycophantic government attachés) refused to schedule a meeting in Nelson, the unofficial capital of the region, community organizers got school buses and carpooling together to transport concerned citizens to a meeting in Kaslo (pop. 1,000). When over 1,100 people showed up at that meeting to speak out against the proposal – on top of hundreds more who attended other scheduled meetings – it was clear then that the Glacier-Howser project was in serious trouble. The mountain of written submissions also included damning evidence of rare bull trout populations that would be gravely threatened by the project – highlighted by a joint submission from DFO and local First Nations, of all people.

Now, in recognition of the public uprising that was surely instrumental in the cancelation of this original contract, we’re pleased to present again my film from the summer of 2009 on those fabled public meetings that saw a record turn-out of citizens standing up for their wild rivers.

Postscript: In light of new information today from the Nelson Post that shows the proponent is looking to resurrect the project with a new and better contract, citizens and environmental groups would do well to stand on
guard and be prepared to take to the streets should Axor be able to
proceed with a new deal from our public utility, clearly against the public will and benefit.

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