The District of Hudson's Hope held a media conference this week on the proposed Site C dam. One of the people to speak was former Executive Director of the Association of Major Power Customers of B.C. Dan Potts, who expressed his doubts on the economics of the project.

    

 

Potts also has 30 experience in managing capital and energy intensive facilities in the forest industry on his resume, as well as a degree in chemical engineering and business. He stated given the current economic situation the numbers from B.C. Hydro do not add up.

 

“I believe that by using available information, the conclusion I come to is that the cost of the electric power from Site C will substantially exceed it’s market value. B.C. Hydro has stated the cost will be $100 plus per mega watt hour. The current market price for electric power at mid sea is $30 per mega watt hour. If you multiply that number times the 1,100 giga watt hours a year that will be the annual energy production from that facility, you come up with a loss of $350,000,000 a year under the current economic situation,” he explained.

 

He went on to say that for power from Site C to be competitive on the market the price of natural gas would need to increase by three and a half times, which he said was very unlikely given the availability of natural gas in North America. The figures he said assumes the dam will be built for it’s expected price tag of $7,900,000,000.

 

Potts stated there is a significant risk as it relates to cost over-runs on the project. He pointed to potential costs associated with First Nations accommodations as one of the factors that could contribute to unexpected costs. Given Hydro’s debts are guaranteed by the Province the costs will hamper British Columbia’s ability to provide needed services in health care, education, and transportation infrastructure.