qathet Regional District (qRD) will write a letter to the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) regarding Powell River Energy Inc.’s initiative to decertify as a public utility.
At the June 28 regional board meeting, board members received a delegation from Energy Democracy for British Columbia. Guy Gentner said he was appearing before the board regarding the BCUC exercise into whether PREI should be a public utility.
Gentner said he was hopeful the regional board would discuss the merits of the PREI application.
“You’ve received a three-line notice from the corporation relative to its desire to become a non-public utility, and if I may suggest to you, a letter from BCUC states that BCUC has identified the regional district as an effective party for communities located fully or partially within the Powell River and Lois Dam reservoir areas and downstream watersheds,” said Gentner. “The change of regulation authority would have a severe impact on a major portion of your geographical area.
“We are hopeful the regional district will follow the leadership of the City of Powell River – the mayor and council – and the Tla’amin Nation, which addressed these concerns. I’ve attached a copy of the letter by your colleagues in the city, relative to its major concern about decertification of PREI as a public utility.”
Gentner said in the mayor’s letter, it is very clear that the identified dams have been constructed to alter the flow of public bodies of water. He said losing regulatory jurisdiction may hinder future needs, locally.
“Council went on to say a system of regulation would leave all decision-making power in the hands of a foreign-controlled entity to allocate power for the exclusive use of foreign customers, would be contrary to the public interest, and disadvantageous to any sensible structure for the management of local natural resources,” said Gentner.
Ellen Gould, another representative of Energy Democracy for BC, said BCUC is asking for comment on the legalities of PREI. She said BCUC has quite a large mandate and one aspect of that is safety, which is a jurisdiction unique to BCUC. She said it is not covered by provincial agencies.
“What PREI is asking for is to be completely exempt from BCUC oversight,” said Gould. “If you do not like the way PREI is managing the dams in your regional district, you can knock on the doors of BCUC and complain. What’s at stake here is eliminating that possibility.”
Gould said any prospective correspondence from qRD could indicate that it does not support the exemption.
“It doesn’t have to be a big deal,” said Gould.
The BCUC deadline for response was June 30. Gould said she was suggesting that the regional board do the easiest thing possible, given the deadline, such as supporting what the city has already said.
Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne made a motion that the qRD send a letter to the BCUC, which the regional board carried.
