On Monday, July 27, 2009, the British Columbia Utilities Commissions (BCUC) made public its decision to reject BC Hydro’s 2008 Long Term Acquisition Plan (LTAP). In short, the LTAP is a document that recommends new power acquisition and energy conservation measures to meet expected future demands for electricity in British Columbia.
In summation, BCUC did not endorse a number of important elements of the LTAP concluding that “…the parts of the LTAP it has rejected represent a level of individual and collective materiality that removes the underpinnings of the entire 2008 LTAP.” As a result of this, BCUC declared that “…BC Hydro’s 2008 LTAP is not in the public interest and rejects it.”
One of the most surprising and controversial decisions and the subject of much discussion is on the issue of the Burrard Thermal Plant. The Utilities Commission determined that BC Hydro should continue to rely on the aging, gas-fired plant as a backup power source. Continued reliance on this ‘brown power’ plant is at odds with the BC Government’s 2007 Energy Plan which clearly calls for the phasing out of Burrard Thermal. There is more information about the Burrard Thermal Plant on BC Citizens for Green Energy’s website
In contrast, BCUC’s decision contained some positive direction about BC Hydro’s 2008 Clean Power Call (CPC) by stating that:
“The 68 proposals BC Hydro received from the 2008 CPC can, in the Commission Panel’s view, be considered as available resources which BC Hydro can and should manage in such a fashion that the requirements of SD 10 are met in the most cost-effective manner possible.”
Further, it was determined that:
“…the Commission Panel endorses the clean or renewable eligibility of the 2008 CPC request for relief, given the government’s energy objectives.”
The LTAP decision was unexpected and certainly caught the government, the public and the Independent Power industry by surprise. In the days since the announcement there has been significant media attention (see key responses below) and much speculation about the future of the renewable industry in British Columbia. On the positive side, the decision has sparked more meaningful public debate about the need for renewable energy. As that discussion unfolds, there are clear signs of significant public, stakeholder and provincial government support for renewable energy and independent power production to fulfill some of the future power needs in the province.
In a recent letter published in the Vancouver Province Newspaper, British Columbia’s Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Blair Lekstrom states that “We support BC Hydro’s plan to replace firm energy supply from the Burrard Thermal plan with clean, renewable energy. Government is reviewing the BCUC decision to ensure B.C. Hydro has the flexibility to meet our energy plan and climate-change goals, which will require a significant and growing supply of clean renewable energy.”
Syntaris Power is pleased to know that the BC government remains committed to the current BC Hydro Clean Power Call and supports the growth of renewable energy in the province. The recent decision by the BCUC to approve four biomass projects in BC is a good first step.
To read the above article in its entirety or view other recent articles related to the BCUC decision, click here.
“The B.C. government has no plans to increase the use of Burrard Thermal as a result of this decision or for any other reason. We support B.C. Hydro’s plan to replace the firm energy supply from the Burrard Thermal plant with clean, renewable energy”~Blair Lekstrom, Minister of Energy, Mines & Petroleum Resources
Link to full article
We have no intention of running Burrard more than we did before. So we won’t be running Burrard seven days a week, 24 hours a day, which is what we’d have to do to achieve the kind of 6,000 GwH hours the commission is talking about. We won’t be doing that, and we don’t believe we have a social licence to do that.”~Bob Elton, President and CEO of BC Hydro
Link to full article
“Burrard Thermal and similar greenhouse gas emitting facilities represent the past…Wind, solar and micro-hydro represent the future and you have fundamentally disadvantaged them.” ~Chiefs Gibby Jacob and Bill Williams of Squamish Nation
Link to full article
“The BCUC decision would result in increased dependence on dirty energy and rising greenhouse gas emissions. It flies in the face of BC’s Climate Action Plan and could result in clean energy investment and jobs leaving the Province…The BC Government needs to step in and assure the public and investment community that this province is committed to climate leadership and developing a clean energy economy.”~Tzeporah Berman, Executive Director of PowerUP Canada
Link to blog post and news release
“If there was any concern about the Government’s commitment to the renewable energy sector arising from the BCUC decision, the Minister’s comments have allayed those concerns. We are also pleased with BC Hydro President Bob Elton’s comment that ‘We have no intention of running Burrard more than we did before.’ Last year Burrard produced 300 GWh, about 5% of the amount suggested by the BCUC decision.” ~Steve Davis, President of the Independent Power Producers Association of BC (IPPBC)
Link to news release
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