Madam Premier Clark visited the Peace Country late last week, once again, praising the benefits of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) for purposes of export to Asia and beyond. The purpose of espousing the benefits of LNG is that the government is hoping for a windfall of profits in the years to come. That in turn, (the Liberals hope) will wipe out the present debt and deficit being shouldered by the taxpayers of B.C.
The second topic on the mind of the Premier is just that point: the debt and deficit of this province which has more than doubled under the tenure of the BC Liberals. Many commercials being aired, show the Premier speaking at the kitchen table, discussing the debt issue with average British Columbians. In one of those ads, she makes the statement, "you create a whole mountain of debt, and it's a trap".
Speaking of a trap, is Premier Clark's support of the Site C proposal. She is also quoted saying that we need Site C, "to keep rates low for residential and industrial users in B.C., that's absolutely paramount." Suprisingly, the Premier just fell into a trap of her own making. By building the Site C dam, the taxpayers and ratepayers of this province will be condemned to pay six times the capital cost for the same unit of energy, (megawatt-hour) rather than by using a natural-gas powered facility. We British Columbians will also be paying three times the operational costs incurred by a Site C rather than opting for a natural gas cogen system. These above numbers are correct. By Hydro's own admission, Site C will cost the taxpayers $110/mWh in comparison to $30/mWh for a natural gas powered system.
What is the problem then? Has the Premier not been made aware of the option? That certainly is not the case. Formal letters of explanation between the two options have indeed been sent to both Premier Clark's office as well as Mr Pimm, the Liberal MLA for Peace River North. Regrettably, after many months, neither party has taken the time to even respond to our letters or to the question.
If the Premier were sincere, in her debt reduction policy, why is she so unwilling to acknowledge the option of B.C. natural gas being used here in the province for efficient power generation? Otherwise, Madam Clark's points about reducing the provincial debt are truly hypocritical and empty talk.
Rick Koechl, Mike Kroecher and Allan Norman
Fort. St. John
