Response to the British Columbia Utilities Commission’s preliminary report on the Site C hydropower project drew an overflow crowd to a forum held yesterday in Vancouver.
The government-mandated hearing was the first held since the B.C. Utilities Commission released the early results of its inquiry last week, which in turn followed an independent review performed on the agency’s behalf by consulting firm Deloitte LLP.
The panel that conducted BCUC’s own investigation found:
- The 1,100-MW Site C project is, as of June 30, 2017, on time for an in-service date of November 2024;
- A reasonable estimate to terminate the project and remediate the site is CAD$1.1 billion;
- Canceling the project would trigger “incremental costs” to replace energy that would have otherwise been produced by Site C; and
- It is “premature to reach a conclusion” about the project’s total costs in the event work were to be temporarily suspended.
BCUC said it has asked Site C developer BC Hydro to submit more information before it issues its final report, which is due November 1.
Though Site C has created a controversy throughout its development, it was a particular point of contention for the province’s New Democratic Party which, under the direction of new Premier John Horgan, has directed many of the inquiries into its future.
For a full archive of HydroWorld.com’s past reporting on Site C, visit here.
