I could believe most of the article above, until the second last paragraph when it proved that she is in the pocket of industry and not the consumer. The GMS Generating station up north cost in the billions to build, and right from day one provided cheap power. So now we are being told that a polluting source of power, that maybe will cost $300-$500 Million to build will result in much higher cost of power. The reason why is not the cost of the equipment, but rather thanks to the liberals it now has to be a private company, out to make a profit above cost versus a public facility.
Given her example then, as these new sources of power get older, and therefore the costs paid off, the rates will go down ? ( Not in my lifetime ).
The Liberal Energy Program has so totally destroyed the future of BC !

BC Hydro should aquire the Kemano power station and add a generator at the Kennedy Dam.

Yama that is unfortunately illegal as BCHydro is now prevented from doing something like that. However a private company ( Alcan ) can do that and get a extremely high rate paid to them for 25 years, regardless of the cost of generating the power. That rate is about 3 times higher then what it presently costs BCHydro to deliver the power to you and me. So long run, rates have to dramatically go up, to feed the profits of these private companies.

I totally agree that the liberal government policy is to increase the cost of electricity to facilitate private for profit generation rather than utilizing public resources to provide cheep affordable energy to BC residents and industry.

Its the lowest common denominator in reverse. Only now we will have the rate of all electricity set by the highest cost producer. That is what the BC liberal government is doing... using our tax dollars to set the high cost benchmark for their private producing buddies... polluting our downtown further to add insult to injury.

Find the highest cost producer, then set the rates based on that cost level, then private producers set their 'firm' profit levels, then BC Hydro makes a windfall from their increased rates, then the liberals divert all the 'profits' to general revenue where they will build more infrastructure in Vancouver and buy votes paid for mostly by rural and northern BC where we need the energy to heat our homes (as opposed to 600 square feet condo's one side exposed in Vancouver where all the votes in our democracy reside).

The idea of BC Hydro investing in cheep power options for BC's future is not politically acceptable for the 2010 604 region, because it does not generate revenue for them to spend, but rather cheep energy for the hinterlands, which is a totally unacceptable trade-off for the 604.

The sad part is PG is going to facilitate the 604 strategy to destroy uur electricity market by providing in all likelihood the high-cost benchmark for the industry rate. Our local politicians are the Trojan Horse that will destroy our future potential, so that they can to do their part... just as they did in the privatization of BC Rail. We supported them for that with our vote already once.

It is no different then the global oil prices we pay for our local oil, when a couple of banksters decide to use fake money derivatives to purchase some futures options at outrageous prices, suddenly everyone in the world is obligated to pay that price if they live in a country like Canada that has a supply-demand-market completely separate from the market the manipulation takes place in. End result is we pay huge for the highest cost benchmark set in global oil markets and now the liberals want that concept extended to our electricity market here in BC, so they can use the windfall for their own pet projects, all the while enriching their ideological campaign financiers in the micro power business (with public resources). No surprise that Kinsley came over from BC Gas (as a director I believe) to be our mayor right after they did the same thing to our provincial gas industry setting it on the path to be bought and owned by Americans out of Texas. End result $3-4-500 a month gas bills to heat your home.

The whole thing is a tax scam designed for the north to pay a disproportionate share.

Why not make the Lower Mainland pay the high-cost producer rate, and then keep the northern rates based on the cost of production at WAC Bennett Dam here in the north? After all they are the communities with all the growth requiring the extra capacity. Either that or separate as our own province of Northern BC and be done with the slanted provincial policies designed to advantage Vancouver at our expense. IMHO

Yama great idea. Thats exactly what they did at the Hughe Keenlyside dam near Castlgar. It was a flood control dam for our friends to the south for many years and now has turbines installed for power production.

BC Hydro keeps telling us that they have to import power to meet demands. What I would like to know how much power is being exported by PowereX to the USA? And did they ever collect the 300 million from power sales in California that they were refusing to pay? It appeares we are just a big storage area for the Americans

If BC Hydro does not get back into dam building and we have to provide a profit for private builders electricity will be up there with the cost of petrolium products controlled by off shore interests.

Cheers

Electicity costs are being and have been subsidized by BC Hydro ever since the dams where built. This is not a sustainable situation.

Efficiently run private corporations will usually be able to generate a profit and still sell below what it would cost a crown corporation to make the product. It is generally accepted that crown corporations do not function efficiently. Profit is a great motivator and it results in technological and process advances. Crown corporations result in powerful governments and terrible waste.

Electicity costs are being and have been subsidized by BC Hydro ever since the dams where built. This is not a sustainable situation.

Efficiently run private corporations will usually be able to generate a profit and still sell below what it would cost a crown corporation to make the product. It is generally accepted that crown corporations do not function efficiently. Profit is a great motivator and it results in technological and process advances. Crown corporations result in powerful governments and terrible waste.

Yamchargers electricity is not subsidized by Hydro where did you get that from. There is a cost to generate the power. Then the amount that it is sold at, the "profit" going to government. Private corps cannot build and generate power as cheaply as a crown corp because they cannot borrow money as cheaply as government. The three power producers in North America that are the cheapest happen to be crown corps, BC Hydro, Manitoba Hydro and Quebec Hydro. If private interprise is so great how come when there is an owee in the economy they run to mother government. Government and private enterprise, in my observations over many many years neither is better or worse than the other. Neither can be trusted.

Yama you either lied with your stated facts or you are very ill informed. Never has the BC rate payer been subsidized on aggragate by BC Hydro. If you choose the Kemano model over the BC Hydro model then I simply do not understand your logic.

ESPs or electrostatic precipitators according the Ms Larson are new technology. I am not sure where she gets her information from but ESPs have been around for almost 100 years, but then again this may be new technology to our new found green experts from city hall and the provincial government.

It appears from the comments of John Rustad concerning the city's hot water heating system he doesn not want to be elected for a second term.