Liberal giveaway means higher hydro rates.

The recent 25% increase announcement BC Hydro rates over the next few years is a direct cause of Gordon Campbell government’s reliance on energy from private independent power producers (IPP’s).

As my colleague MLA John Horgan said: “British Columbians are paying the price for Gordon Campbell’s privatization agenda.”

The B.C. Liberals have prevented BC Hydro to produce our own electricity anymore. B.C. Hydro has been forced into buying power from private energy companies at unreasonably high rates.

BC used to pay one of the lowest hydro rates in North America, but that is now changing because of the Liberal plan to give away our rivers and consequently our electrical capacity to “run of the river” power corporations. And make no mistake these aren’t small little companies. Plutonic Power Corporation, now in control of watersheds up beyond Jervis Inlet has recently partnered with General Electric for $100,000,000. Didn’t old Socred, WAC Bennett nationalize BC Electric and created BC Hydro. It’s now being torn down. B.C. Hydro will pay more than ten times more for power from independent power producers than from publicly-owned sources.

Over the last six months, B.C. Hydro paid an average of $5.98 per megawatt hour for electricity it produced, compared to $60.67 per megawatt-hour for power from IPPs. New contracts to buy electricity from IPPs will require B.C. Hydro to pay upwards of $89 a megawatt hour.

Price will be determined more by the demands of California rather than the supply British Columbians once owned.

If you want more information about how the Liberals are selling your rivers and electricity, SFU professor, John Calvert has a good book out: Liquid Gold Energy Privatization in BC. It’s a good read. Also please check into the Citizen’s for public power website as well.

Guy