September 23, 2005

Controversial B.C. dam project may be revisited after decades

Updated project price tag comes in at $3.5B; stakeholders to talk

VICTORIA

B.C. Hydro will decide next month if it’s prepared to revive decades-old plans to build a controversial power dam near Fort St. John, the Crown corporation said Thursday.

The B.C. Hydro board will meet in early October to review updated plans of the Site C mega project, forecast to cost $3.5 billion, spokeswoman Elisha Moreno said.

The Site C dam would create a water reservoir that spans 94 square kilometres, flooding private and Crown land in the Peace River area.

The dam is projected to create 900 megawatts of power, enough for 500,000 homes.

“The next major step for us, once the board approves it, is to go out and talk to all the stake holders in the area,” Moreno said. “First Nations, people who live in the area, land owners, people like the residents of Hudson’s Hope, people who would be directly impacted.”

Site C also requires the approval of Premier Gordon Campbell’s cabinet.

Energy Minister Richard Neufeld said he supports B.C. Hydro’s attempts to pursue home-grown energy options. Over the last four years British Columbia has imported energy to meet its domestic needs, he said.

But Neufeld stopped short of endorsing Site C, which would be located in his Peace River North riding.

“Before I’d say I’m a total supporter of it, I have to see how they are going to do it,” he said. “Until all the information’s there, I can’t make a comment on it.”

Moreno said B.C. Hydro imported almost 6,700 gigawatt hours of power last year, about 13 per cent of the province’s domestic needs.

Hydro officials are updating previous plans for Site C and will present the revised documents to the Hydro board next month, she said. A date for the board meeting has not been announced.

“What they are going to do in October is decide what we’re going to do going forward,” Moreno said.

During the 1980s, Site C was projected to cost $2.1 billion. The idea of building another power dam in the Peace River area was first raised in the 1970s.

It was shelved indefinitely due to cost and environmental pressures.

Canadian Press

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