Category: Journalism

IPPs received $672 million above market price in 2015

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I’ve been reviewing more than 20 years of BC Hydro records and they show gradual growth in electrical demand until 2005. Subsequently, there has been no demand growth; in 2015, domestic power sales were lower than ten years before. What did grow were Hydro’s purchases of electricity from independent power producers. In calendar year 2006, 5,636 GWh supplied by IPPs cost $368 million (6.5¢/KWh); in 2015, 14,418 GWh cost Hydro $1,217 million (8.4¢/KWh).
A 155% increase in the volume of IPP purchases is alarming by itself given the lack of need for it but the average unit price has been rising steadily. In the 4th quarter of 2015, IPP unit prices were 9.2% higher than the preceding quarter. To accommodate power coming into the system, BC Hydro had to choose between shutting down their own capacity or dumping power in markets outside BC at well below cost…

Twitter bits

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The final item may present a clue to the current state of British Columbia’s energy market. It’s hard to believe we came to this only through the sheer stupidity of our policy makers.

News from the echo chamber

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Columnist Vaughn Palmer reports concerns expressed by Moody’s Investors Service about growing BC Hydro debt. The agency stated the obvious, which is that numerous capital projects are adding billions to the public utility’s debt and higher electricity rates or contributions from government are necessary. Palmer repeats Moody’s judgement that Hydro’s financial metrics “are among the weakest of Canadian provincial utilities.” However, the Vancouver Sun pundit provides an inaccurate explanation of why the situation exists…

Socialist hordes at the gates, this time for real

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Liberal pals in corporate media can be counted on to repeat socialist disaster myths from the nineties but they go strangely silent when BC Liberals promote foreign owned socialist enterprises. They are hostile to public enterprise when the owner is British Columbia but BC Liberals show unbounded enthusiasm for investing borrowed money in ventures owned by undemocratic and corrupt foreign governments. That might make sense if there was to be a certain flow of significant economic benefits and a commitment to clean renewable energy. Perhaps it is because Premier Clark and Minister Coleman prefer deeds done in the shadows, particularly if the shadows are overseas.

Flawed analysis

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Following the passing of Alberta’s Conservative party, Macleans writer Colby Cosh described a drawn-out illness that made the result inevitable. Followers of British Columbia politics will recognize symptoms also found west of […]