British Columbia Power Costs to Increase
Olympic cheer won’t withstand an energy upheaval in British
Columbia.
The Canadian province and its largest city Vancouver just hosted
what many are calling the greenest Olympiad ever. With its
reputation as a clean, coastal metropolis where quality of life is
high, few observers or visitors seemed surprised that Vancouver set
up online energy monitoring, made extra efforts in energy
efficiency, and even aimed for
target=”_blank” title=”Debating Climate Change”>carbon
neutrality throughout this winter’s Olympic fortnight.
Yet this week - just a few days after Canada’s gold medal wins
in men’s and women’s hockey over their neighbors to the
south - Canadians and British Columbia residents in particular
must confront per-capita energy consumption that beats the USA’s
average.
In 2006 (the last year for which data are available), Canadians
used 8,262 kilograms of oil equivalent (kgoe) per person, compared
to 7,768 kgoe for each U.S. resident.
As economic conditions fluctuate - 2006 was a boom year - intake
numbers will move up and down as well. Nevertheless, provincial
utility BC Hydro is preparing for a future with a clear upward
trend in energy appetite and rising costs for Vancouver
residents.
15% in Rate Increases Loom for BC Hydro
Customers
As February turned into March, BC government heads in the capital
Victoria looked up every once in a while to watch their national
heroes go for gold, but their attention was focused mainly on the
provincial budget.
Everyone knows that the Olympics are seen by host cities and
countries as a spending target unto themselves. Historically, the
public spaces, transportation upgrades, and economic activity are
an easy sell (not to mention every sports-minded person in the
world knowing your city’s name).
Across Canada, Montreal’s Stade Olympique still stands, though
the last race of the Montreal Olympiad was run almost 34 years ago.
In Beijing, on the other hand, the famed “Bird’s Nest” where the
2008 Opening Ceremonies were held is set for demolition - the
target=”_blank” title=”Chinese Cleantech”>Chinese evidently
aren’t interested in keeping urban mementos that hold 90,000
people.
Despite the desire to bask in Vancouver’s afterglow, Finance
Minister Colin Hansen announced on March 2 that he wants to pump up
infrastructure spending in 2010 and 2011 while cutting funding in
the out years to balance the budget. Where governments can rely on
taxpayers to make such spending surges happen, BC Hydro is turning
to ratepayers for the influx of funds.
BC Hydro customers are looking at 15% in rate increases over the
next two years and up to 33% by 2013, with a 9.26% increase taking
effect as soon as April 1. That adds up to about $7 extra on
everyone’s monthly bill - not enough to break the bank for
most - but as incremental changes go, it’s a sizable one that
brings questions.
Namely: “What are we getting for the money?”
Instead of a winter sports wonderland, BC Hydro is upgrading
hydroelectric facilities that are a generation old. The newest site
slated for capacity expansion is the Revelstoke Dam, built way back
in 1984.
The utility has already started bringing school-bus sized
transformers to the generating station site, the local
Revelstoke Times Review reports, and the goal is to bring
new turbines online by October. Eventually, the Revelstoke buildout
will add 500 MW to the nearly 2000 MW already up and running, and
40,000 additional residential customers are expected to be served
by the upgrade during peak usage hours. In total, BC Hydro (whose
full name BC Hydro and Power Authority, indicating a reach beyond
just dam-based energy) serves 94% of the province’s population
centers.
Of those 1.8 million or so customers, nearly all are expected to
ramp up consumption in the coming decades.
Gold for BC Hydro? Not So Fast
On its website, BC Hydro awards itself a “gold medal” for its
consistent supply of power to the Vancouver Olympics. “By
flawlessly powering the games,” they say, “we feel we’ve won a gold
medal, too.”
Operating 30 hydroelectric plants plus a few natural gas ones, BC
Hydro did avoid outages that could have left Bob Costas in the
dark. Nevertheless, its upgrade plans don’t seem to include any
significant changes that will accommodate significant demand
increases.
“The demand for energy could grow by as much as 40 percent over the
next 20 years as the economy recovers, so we have to be ready for
that,” BC Hydro spokeswoman Susan Danard said in Thursday’s edition
of Canada’s Globe and Mail national newspaper.
Canadian national net energy consumption grew from 309 billion
kilowatt-hours in 1980 to 529 billion kWh in 2006 - a 71% jump. If
the 40% in 20 years reckoning is correct, British Columbia
electricity residents may be upping their wattage at a slower rate
than the country as a whole. However, much of BC Hydro’s current
price pressure is due to declining non-residential
consumption.
Third-quarter net income at the utility was down 50% in 2009 from
2008, as the provincial forestry market weakened and mills used
less power. When the timber companies perk up, the power supply
rope will tighten even more. The $7/month surcharge may seem like a
small bump to avoid power shortages in the jewel of the Canadian
Pacific.
If British Columbia is going to continue as a model for energy
efficiency, it needs to diversify. The
target=”_blank” title=”Canadian Wind Energy”>Canadian Wind
Energy Association says that as of late last year, every
Canadian province has wind energy capacity. Nationally, about a
million homes can run off wind-generated power that totals 3359 MW.
That represents a tenfold increase over the past six years!
By advancing beyond dam expansions, BC could help make another
order of magnitude increase in Canadian clean power
achievable.
Jeff Siegel is in Arizona today, but he’s told me to let you know
that a full report on British Columbia’s top green power developer
is coming your way very soon.
Regards,
Source: www.greenchipstocks.com
