Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Questions about whether consultations with First Nations not involved in projects have been adequate are coming up in the Utilities Commission's process ( my emphasis ) BC Hydro opened its second call for new sources of electricity barely two weeks ago, but the projects in its 2024 call for power remain under review by the BC Utilities Commission, with questions raised about cost and overlapping claims of First Nations during the process. The province has promised to expedite the addition of new, renewable power sources to BC Hydro’s inventory, using Bill 14 to exempt projects from environmental review processes. Last December, BC Hydro picked 10 such projects to add up to 4,800 gigawatt hours per year of electricity, with some starting to deliver electricity by 2028. However, the Utilities Commission’s panel reviewing the energy purchase agreements has extended the timetable for the written review seven times ... CLICK HERE for the full story

"I am compelled to address two crucial matters: the natural gas pipeline issue and the vulnerability stemming from the reliance on a single hydro line servicing West Kelowna,” he writes. McCall was chosen by the party to represent West Kelowna-Peachland in the next provincial election, scheduled for on or before Oct. 19, 2024. He says a decision by the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) to deny the expansion of the natural gas pipeline on the east side of Okanagan Lake, between Chute Lake and Penticton, needs to be reconsidered ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Mark Jaccard, a proponent of tougher regulation and critic of carbon energy, is new BCUC chair, CEO The appointment of an academic critical of carbon-based energy as chair and chief executive officer of the British Columbia Utilities Commission is drawing diverging opinions from the political opposition ... ... Jaccard, who previously served in the same role between 1992 and 1997 while the New Democrats were in power, currently works as a professor at Simon Fraser University’s School of Resource and Environmental Management. Jaccard has published and consulted extensively on energy and climate change and has often appeared as a voice for tougher rules to accelerate the transition toward a zero-emission future. Jaccard has also been a vocal critic of the oil and gas industry ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Today, the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) denied BC Hydro ’s proposed new interim rates for Public Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Service and established a Streamlined Review Process (SRP) to expedite its review of BC Hydro’s application. Current rates for EV charging service at BC Hydro fast charging stations remain in effect on an interim basis pending the outcome of the BCUC’s review.   BC Hydro filed its Public EV Charging Service Rates Application with the BCUC on July 28, 2023. In its application, BC Hydro requested its current rates be rescinded and replaced by new interim rates, effective September 1, 2023, amongst other items.   The BCUC has denied BC Hydro’s new interim rates because the proposed rates are materially different than the current rates. BC Hydro’s application introduced rates for charger power level intervals rather than set power levels, new rates for level 2 charging, and a new extended stay charge ... CLICK HERE for the r...