Province’s next government must stand by Site C
Case for project compelling, Caroline Elliott writes.
A report was recently released on the Site C dam suggesting that the next B.C. government ought to suspend or cancel construction of the project. The report’s economic assessment suggests that the Site C business case is no longer as strong as when the project was approved more than two years ago.
The thing is, infrastructure projects — especially large ones like the Site C dam — require commitment, long-term vision and leadership to see them through. The 2014 decision by the B.C. government to build Site C was based on the best available information, including a number of fluctuating factors.
The compelling business case for the project included a thorough analysis of alternatives, a rigorous evaluation of the need for a new electricity source, and a thorough environmental assessment that took place over three years.
In its May 2014 report, an independent federal-provincial Joint Review Panel concluded that “Site C would be the least expensive of the alternatives,” and that it would “produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions per unit of energy than any source save nuclear.”
The Joint Review Panel also commented that electricity demand forecasting, like any assessment of future conditions, is inherently uncertain. The report opposing Site C capitalizes on this uncertainty to urge suspending or stopping altogether the ongoing work on the project.
But, even as any precise prediction of future conditions is impossible, there are some things that are certain. Long-term electricity demand will rise. That is a fact, and is likely intuitive to readers who need only look around at their growing neighbourhoods, their multiple electronic devices and the emergence of electric vehicles. With a million more people projected to move to B.C. in the coming decades, electricity demand will undoubtedly continue to increase.
True, utilities like B.C. Hydro cannot plan their electricity resources to the head of a pin, so that every single generator installed coincides precisely with when the electricity it generates is needed. Instead, they must build for the future, looking at general trends. While not every kilowatt of power from Site C will be required the moment the project comes into service, there is no question that demand will catch up.
This was exactly the case with B.C. Hydro’s hydroelectric dams that were constructed decades ago by B.C.’s noted builders, including W.A.C. Bennett. His leadership back then means that today, when switches are flicked all over this province, the lights come on.
Building ahead of demand, rather than waiting until it is too late, has provided us with the clean and abundant hydro system that makes B.C. the envy of the world. We need to see this same kind of vision from the party that forms the government after the May 9 election.
To be sure, electricity demand forecasts will tick up or tick down, depending on a number of ever-changing factors such as commodity prices and market conditions. But can you imagine if all of our infrastructure projects were built according to the “start-stop” and “maybe-start-again” method suggested by the report’s authors?
Imagine making long-term, generational decisions based on the best available information, and then second-guessing them every time electricity demand forecasts trend upward or downward. Imagine signing major contracts and cancelling them, only to re-sign them, having paid major penalties in the meantime. Imagine hiring the thousands of workers who are building Site C today, only to send them home with no paycheque and a future of uncertainty. Imagine mobilizing all of that major equipment to site, only to demobilize it at great costs to ratepayers based on the economics of the moment.
Site C’s benefits are being felt long before the project even comes into service. Under construction for almost two years, things are proceeding on schedule and on budget. Over 2,000 workers are on site, providing for their families at a time when the northeast has seen significant economic uncertainty. And nearly 300 B.C. businesses have participated in Site C construction so far, with lots of opportunities still to come over the next years of construction.
The decisions that have benefited B.C. the most, that have built our province and laid the groundwork for the quality of life we enjoy today, were visionary and bold. It’s the kind of leadership that is needed in the Site C case. Future generations will thank us for this legacy, the way we thank previous generations for building our province through the development of clean and affordable hydroelectric power.