The issue of BC Hydro’s two-tier billing is beginning to make the news again and I’m pleased that the new government has committed to looking into it.
Back in 2016, I received correspondence from a number of constituents expressing frustration over the-two tier billing system. I shared and continue to share their concerns. On May 27, 2016 I wrote a letter to Bill Bennett, the then Minister of Energy and Mines, asking for more information.
Electricity (produced from renewable sources) is the cleanest form of heating. We should be encouraging (not discouraging) its use. The idea that multi-tier pricing enhances conservation and efficiency, while theoretically correct, has obvious detrimental consequences. It inadvertently incentivizes fossil fuel use for heating and hot water. It also doesn’t differentiate between large and small homes, the number of people in a particular dwelling or if you drive an electric vehicle. For many, it is simply impossible to stay within Tier 1 year around.
A far more attractive approach would be to introduce time-of-day billing. By charging different rates at different times of the day (which is easy to do since the introduction of smart meters), rate-payers could optimize their energy usage (and help stabilize the electricity load). For example, cheaper rates in the evening or the night (where demand is low) would encourage people to charge their electrical vehicles then (instead of during the day). Programmable dishwashers, dryers and other appliances could also access this cheaper energy.
I look forward to seeing the elimination of the two-tier system. If this is an issue that is important to you, I encourage you to contact the Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources at: EMPR.Minister@gov.bc.ca
Today the BC Government fulfilled a promise made in our Supply and Confidence Agreement to send the Site C project to the BC Utilities Commission for review. The Terms of Reference for the review indicate that a preliminary report summarizing preliminary findings will be released on September 20 with the final report due November 1, 2017. Below I reproduce the statement I released in response to this announcement. Further coverage is available in the Victoria Times Colonist, Vancouver Sun and Globe and Mail.
Weaver statement on government’s announcement of Site C review
August 02, 2017
VICTORIA, B.C. – Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Green caucus, responded to the news that the NDP minority government has referred the Site C dam for review by the B.C. Utilities Commission.
“I’m glad that the BC NDP have laid out a process that will ensure that Site C finally receives an independent review,” said Weaver. “The BC Liberals should have sent this project for review from the get-go to determine whether it was in the interests of British Columbians. It is simply reckless to spend $9 billion of public money without proper due diligence. According to estimates the cost could be as high as $12 billion.
“As an opposition caucus, our role is to hold the government to account as this process goes ahead. As per our Confidence and Supply Agreement, we were consulted early on the terms of reference but the final draft is the responsibility of Cabinet.
“Our goal all along has been to ensure that a decision such as this, where the impacts are felt by so many, is made with the best information available. This is a step in that direction.”
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Media contact
Jillian Oliver, Press Secretary
250-882-6187 | jillian.oliver@leg.bc.ca
Media Statement – August 19, 2016
Climate Action Announcement Definitely Not Leadership
For immediate release
Victoria B.C. – Andrew Weaver, MLA for Oak Bay – Gordon Head and leader of the B.C. Green Party calls the B.C. Government Climate Action announcement disappointing and lacking leadership.
“Not only has the Clark government dismantled many of the existing climate policies, but they are also ignoring key recommendations from their own expert panel on what needs to happen for B.C. to once again become a climate leader.
“For the past few years it has become painfully clear that the B.C. Liberals have chosen to forgo any leadership on this file, instead choosing to chase the LNG pipedream.
“As we go into another year with temperature records again being smashed across the world and in B.C., this government is content to fiddle and play games with carbon accounting. Without increasing the carbon levy there is no hope that British Columbia will meet its GHG reduction targets.
“For fifteenth consecutive month in a row, July 2016 emerged as the warmest month since measurements have been collected. Average global temperatures for the year-to-date period January-July 2016 shattered the previous record set in 2015. The government’s plan doesn’t demonstrate leadership. It demonstrates complacency and a wilful disregard of the urgency of dealing with climate change.
“British Columbia has an opportunity to become a leader in this world, establishing a 21st century economy built on innovation and clean technology. This goal cannot be realized with the current administration’s directionless approach to governance.
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Backgrounder – Changes since Christy Clark became Premier
Under Premier Gordon Campbell, British Columbia emerged as an international leader in climate policy. But since Christy Clark has taken over at the helm, we’ve move from being a leader to becoming a laggard. The legacy of Premier Clark’s so-called climate leadership to date is as follows:
Media contact
Mat Wright – Press Secretary, Andrew Weaver MLA
1 250 216 3382
mat.wright@leg.bc.ca
Media Statement: February 29, 2016
Andrew Weaver Expresses Sympathy for Protesters in the Wake of Site C Ruling
For Immediate Release
Victoria, B.C. – Andrew Weaver, Leader of the B.C. Green Party and MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head, expresses sympathy for the protesters’ position but recognizes the court’s ruling.
“We must respect the rulings of the courts,” says Weaver. “However, I think the reasons behind why the protesters were there in the first place were, and remain, valid. I greatly sympathize with the lengths they have gone in an attempt to be heard during this process.”
“Site C has been a project that has been aggressively pushed through by this government, primarily to fuel an LNG industry that doesn’t exist. They committed to a huge project and are now in the process of trying to save face. It’s expensive gamble borne on the backs of British Columbians.”
“There have been exemptions on oversight every step of the way,” says Weaver. “The government has done everything it can to push aside dissent without reasonable justification. This injunction is, to my mind, another example of bullying out disagreement, rather than listening to the concerns of British Columbians.”
“Despite the court’s ruling, I still believe Site C is risky and foolish and I will continue to voice my opposition to this project. British Columbians are going to be paying for Site C for decades and in the absence of a vastly expanded LNG industry, we simply don’t need it.”
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Media Contact
Mat Wright – Press Secretary Andrew Weaver MLA
1 250 216 3382
mat.wright@leg.bc.ca
Media Release: February 18, 2016
Andrew Weaver calls for a halt to Site C activities
For Immediate Release
Victoria, B.C. – Citing significant risk to taxpayers and the provincial economy, Andrew Weaver, Leader of the B.C. Green Party and MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head, is calling for an absolute halt to Site C activities until the Auditor General’s report is completed.
“What do I think of Site C?,” says Weaver “It is risky and foolish. British Columbians are going to be paying for this project for decades, for a project that, in the absence of a vastly expanded LNG industry, we simply don’t need.”
On Monday B.C. Hydro will be in Vancouver seeking an injunction to remove a protest camp that has been set up by First Nations and landowners on the bank of the Peace River.
“Site C is a project that has been pushed forward from day one with exemptions on oversight every step of the way,” says Weaver. “The government has done everything it can to push aside dissent without reasonable justification. This latest move by B.C. Hydro is just another example of this approach.”
“Site C should have been subject to the B.C. Utilities Commision, but the government felt it would slow down their political agenda too much,” says Weaver.“I couldn’t agree more with former B.C. Hydro CEO Marc Eliesen in that due diligence is absolutely needed with a project of this magnitude. It’s simply reckless to proceed in this manner.”
Weaver warns that proceeding with Site C is also actively driving clean energy investment out of the province.
“Just two weeks ago the Canadian Wind Energy Association announced it was closing its office and leaving the province because the government and B.C. Hydro are just not interested,” says Weaver. “This mirrors a trend we saw last year with EDP Renewables – no interest from government for a roughly one billion dollar wind-power investment off Southern Vancouver Island, so the company walked.”
“Rather than let the market take the risk for energy infrastructure projects, this government is using billions of taxpayer dollars to get Site C ‘past the point of no return’. It’s a project that was dreamt up to support the pipedream of LNG. Now it’s a project without a home, and all we’ve seen is the cost go up and up while other opportunities vanish.”
Today in his response to the budget, Weaver elaborated on his fiscal concerns about Site C.
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Media Contact
Mat Wright – Press Secretary Andrew Weaver MLA
1 250 216 3382
mat.wright@leg.bc.ca