A Conservative MLA is going to bat for Sandon’s historic power plant, whose operators say their existence is threatened by the amount BC Hydro pays them for electricity.
Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman raised the matter last week with energy minister Adrian Dix. Several local governments in the West Kootenay are also calling for the province to do more for small power producers.
The following is a transcript of the exchange in the legislature. You can also watch the video at bottom.
Banman: Silversmith Power and Light, Canada’s longest continually operating green hydroelectric facility for 129 years, is at risk of closure in less than five months. They are locally owned, run-of-the-river hydroelectric utility in Sandon, British Columbia. Yet today, they are being pushed rapidly towards shutdown, due to a series of government-controlled policies and decisions that have left them with no sustainable path forward. This is not just about one facility, Mr. Speaker. It reflects a broader and growing problem in British Columbia’s electrical system. At a time when B.C. faces electrical shortages and increasingly importing power from the United States, Mr. Speaker, Why is this government forcing out local, clean, green energy producers like Silversmith Power and Light?
Dix: The member, as usual, is late and inaccurate in his analysis. As the member will know, water levels are very strong this year for B.C. Hydro. We’ll be exporting more power than we import to the benefit of British Columbians. In fact, as has been the case in nine of the last 16 years. So when you premise your question on inaccurate information, I think it’s important to bring accurate information to the table. There are a number of projects that presumably the members talking about electricity agreements. Well, Honourable Speaker, I am answering the question. The member made a number of incorrect assertions, and I’m simply correcting them, which is part of my role in his life.
But with respect to the project, absolutely happy to meet with the proponents. But BC Hydro’s task, I think, is to act in the public interest and the interest of people in BC, which means, with respect, for example, to projects, many projects, that were contracted some decades ago, when their time of the contract is over, to renegotiate those contracts. And that presumably is the process that’s underway. And that’s a process between an independent power producer and BC Hydro. And I presume that that’s desirable for everyone, that it’ll continue to be that way.
Banman: Thank you for that long-winded response, which really didn’t answer the question, but I want to show the minister how the policies are affecting this producer, Mr. Speaker. For April, they are being offered 0.06 cents per kilowatt for their electricity. It’s a small fraction of what B.C. Hydro customers pay and far below what is required for sustainability. The minister will try to say that this rate is independently determined.
However, to make matters even worse, The province agreed to sell the land the powerhouse sits on, which is former CP property, way back in 1996. Thirty years later, they’re still waiting. In the meantime, they could have expanded five times the size. But because they don’t own the land, the banks won’t lend them a penny. It’s a never-ending cycle of bureaucratic idiocracy. They are now one of the very last locally owned hydroelectric operations remaining in the province. A historic one, 129 years of proud service. The current system does not support local producers, and without immediate change, local green generation in British Columbia will disappear. So I’ll ask the minister one more time. Why is this government prioritizing American energy over local, clean Canadian producers?
Dix: The member, one, refers to BC Hydro customers who pay the lowest electricity rates in the world along with Manitoba Hydro and Quebec Hydro. They do that because we run a serious Crown corporation at BC Hydro that does an excellent job for the people of BC. Two, we are, and the members are opposed to this, but we are increasing the amount of electricity produced in BC through energy purchase agreements with independent power producers. Three, as I noted in my first answer, I’d be happy to meet with his constituents and people any time. Four, the member can take up his issues with Gordon Campbell later, but I would say, Honourable Speaker, that B.C. Hydro does an outstanding job, that they’re building the province. This is a critical moment for us to develop our energy independence, and B.C. Hydro is leading the way in spite of the opposition from the B.C. Conservative Party and will continue to do so. And as I noted in my first answer, Honourable Speaker, I’m happy to meet with anybody at any time on electricity issues.
