Now Over To You, Alcan: One Man's Opinion
By Ben Meisner
If Alcan hopes to put through a deal to build a new smelter in Kitimat they will need to revise their plan in a big way following the announcement by Premier Gordon Campbell that the province will not appeal the decision of the BCUC, effectively sending the deal to the ash can.
Campbell says that he could have sent along a letter to the BCUC telling them to put this thing through. "I could have written them a letter saying you are a body of the government, you are appointed by government, and you will approve this deal. I didn’t."
Campbell says that he still thinks that a smelter is a good idea for the region - a couple of billion bucks is good for this province. But he says, "If the BCUC has trouble with the deal on the power side of things then its up to them to appeal the decision, or BC hydro. We won’t."
"Let me say again, I am not in the pocket up Alcan, my deputy had discussions with Alcan, we had discussions with Kitimat, and all the other players, but Gordon Campbell did not say this thing must go ahead. I said then and I say again, if it meets all of the criteria, then I believe it is a very good thing for that region and we have to look 20 years down the road, not just today, when it comes to a reduced Labour force."
The deal got the tube because BC Hydro and Alcan tried to cobble together a deal that was simply too rich for this province.
The people were being asked to subsidize the production of power in this province well in excess of $1-billion dollars. That would come out your and my pocket via increased hydro bills; the BCUC, to its credit, sniffed the deal out and said no.
Now the real deal will see the light of day and will Alcan, in turn, now say no sweet power deal, no smelter - sound familiar?
I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion
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Posted by: HJP Mills on February 20 2007 11:14 PM
Judging by your previous correspondence about the Alcan/BC Hydro power deal, your paragraphs above are utterly predictable, and your 'cobbling' view dull and uninspiring.
Most of your article consists of suggested quotes by the Premier, whilst your point of view is expressed in a sentence, a sentence with which I disagree.
You suggest that the reason that the BCUC decided that the agreement between Alcan and BC Hydro was unacceptable was that us hdro users would have to pay more to the utility because of the agreement. You may well be correct...how perceptive.
Your flash of brilliance however needs to be set against the huge tax dollars that the province stands to gain from 50 or more years of the life of Alcan's next smelter in Kitimat.
You will most likely also be in agreement with the District of Kitimat's point of view that ALL power from Alcan's power plant at Kemano should be used at the smelter, and that any other power needed, both by town and smelter, at this end of the corridor should be provided by BC Hydro - in other words - you'd support the DoK's contention that Alcan should have elected to, in the words of the DoK's tarnished slogan, "Take the RESA".
Do you or they have any idea what the cost to us ratepayers would have been if Alcan had given in to the DoK and decided to "Take the RESA"?
It wouldn't have been the $110 million necessary to guarantee the huge rebuild in Kitimat...no, the cost of the RESA infrastructure alone, lines and switching stations, would have been $750 million even before the cost of the power to provide XS power to plant and town...what would THAT have done to hydro rates?
Supporting the District of Kitimat point of view would likely have cost us 10 to 15 times as much in rate increases.
The rhetoric from the 'antis' in this silly battle to gain, or incomprehensively refuse, a two thousand million dollar improvement to the Alcan smelter in Kitimat has become childish. There is no doubt whatsoever that the modernisation will enhance the health and stability of thousands of folk in the Northwest.
Lets encourage it with open arms, and recognise your own position against Alcan in an historical context...Sound familiar?
Yours, Howard Mills