The utility is looking at others as it searches for ways to cut costs

Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett says BC Hydro expects to cancel 10 agreements to buy private electricity and defer nine others as it looks for ways to cut costs for consumers.

The announcement comes one week after the utility released a report announcing four agreements had been cancelled and others were under consideration, and only one day after Bennett made similar comments publicly.

Bennett wouldn’t identify any of the companies involved but says they didn’t meet their contractual obligations, and the projects were in the early stages of development and were raising money or had completed some site preparation.

As part of the cancellation, Bennett says the utility has agreed to pay some of the companies’ “sunk costs,” such as environmental studies, work with First Nations, engineering drawings and site preparation.

Bennett says paying those costs will be less expensive for BC Hydro in the long run than paying courts costs.

Wilderness Committee welcomes move

The Wilderness Committee says the cancellation of the contracts is a step in the right direction.

The environmental group says BC Hydro’s mantra that it needs to buy power from the private sector because it doesn’t produce enough of its own is a fallacy.

The committee’s Joe Foy says the utility has lost flexibility to generate more of its own power, thanks to the long-term contracts with private producers.

“Two years ago BC Hydro was running water over its dams. It wasn’t producing the electricity it could have because it had too much and it was obligated to buy electricity from private power companies,” he insists.

Plus, private run-of-river projects have been contentious, as companies have been given the ability to divert water from rivers.

“That impacts fish. Well over 70 per cent of run-of-river projects divert water out of fish habitats,” notes Foy.

He says the pricey long-term contracts with private providers don’t make much sense, because electricity prices are dropping and our power needs aren’t growing as much as anticipated.