When a former CEO of BC Hydro is writing this... "Horgan’s runaway costs on #SiteC: Enough is enough" - op-ed by Marc Eliesen, who also headed Manitoba Hydro and Ontario Hydro. timescolonist.com/comment-horgan…#bcpoli
.."Horgan relied on a false narrative.. He said if #SiteC was terminated, $10.2 bn in costs would be subject to an immediate writedown, and this writedown would cause a 26% increase in electricity rates.
The premier is relying on a fairy tale..." - Marc Eliesen #bcpoli
...Marc Eliesen: "This is not the first time Horgan has resorted to fantasy in an effort to sell #SiteC....Horgan’s own press release contradicts his fear-mongering rhetoric." Eliesen is arguably the most progressive, public-serving CEO in BC Hydro history. #bcpoli
..But here's the biggest lie of Horgan's from his #SiteC press conference & Eliesen explains it well: no, the $10bn to cancel #SiteC does NOT come due right away; it can be amortized the same way the cost of the dam is. Robert McCullough showed the same at the 2017 BCUC hearing.
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It's been 1 week since Horgan's #SiteC announcement. Unsurprisingly it's also been 1 week of hearing from engineers & construction experts about the proposed geotechnical "fix" at Site C (what little the BC govt released). This could be a long thread. Apologies to non-nerds..
NOTE: because #SiteC is shrouded in secrecy & full info is never released, engineers & construction experts can only go by the scant info that's available. If BC Hydro/BCH engineers want to argue that other engineers don't know the details, we invite them to release those now.
Having said that, we already had a little technical information on #SiteC, which is now combined with the Geotechnical Safety Overview Report that the NDP govt released on Friday, so we have a fair amount to go on. See: news.gov.bc.ca/files/Site_C_G…
and also news.gov.bc.ca/files/2-26-21_…
!!! Some intel from inside BC Hydro: in a recent online staff meeting on #COVID19BC safety, the feedback mechanism in the Slido app they use was overrun by negative comments on mgmt, & BCH had to shut down the app. Many people questioned the coverup of the covid death at #SiteC..
..I'm just reporting what I'm hearing from a source, given there's no transparency from govt or BC Hydro: "Employees are at the breaking point with conflicting orders, #COVID19 & incompetence, & some are now questioning #SiteC openly. Many don't care if they are fired anymore.."
.."The top issue aired in the call was the COVID-19 death of the #SiteC worker but other issues were general anger with incompetence in BC Hydro management..."
What did I say about Mark Jaccard & Blake Shaffer (son of #SiteC lobbyist Marv Shaffer)? The fact their names are back in the news (& federal Enviro Min. @JonathanWNV keeps dropping Jaccard's name) means BC & Canada are pushing #SiteC... #bcpoli#cdnpolicbc.ca/news/canada/ca…
@JonathanWNV Mark Jaccard's main argument for #SiteC back in 2017 was that #SiteC would be "dispatchable" power (available anytime) unlike wind/solar. He managed to get himself into every media outlet to repeat this. BC DOESN'T BEGIN TO NEED ANY MORE DISPATCHABLE POWER. He knows this #bcpoli
@JonathanWNV ..Worse, the feds are really showing their hand here by throwing money at UNESCO site Wood Buffalo National Park, which the UN has warned will be impacted (desiccated) by #SiteC. The Park needs water, not money, Minister Wilkinson. Why are you pushing #SiteC on it & BC? #cdnpoli
What's really funny is that the person who coined "trickle down" meant it as mockery. Do you know who that is? "Fifty Years of Tax Cuts for Rich Didn’t Trickle Down, Study Says" bloomberg.com/news/articles/…#capitalism
..Will Rogers coined "trickle-down." Yes, that's right, the humourist Will Rogers. He was criticizing Hoover's stimulus package in the 30s Depression because (like so much Covid stimulus) it was going to powerful entities that didn't need it: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trickle-d…
..Meanwhile, another expression for a capitalist article of faith - "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps" - also started off as a joke. It's a 19th C expression to describe the impossibility of pulling yourself up alone. Yet some take it at face value. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootstrap…
Given that the Milburn report could potentially be announced tomorrow, it feels like a good time to refocus on #SiteC. We know all the many arguments against this dam, but the thing is, all but one of them are moot.
The site's geology makes the dam unsafe, period. #bcpoli 1/x
..Yes, other arguments against #SiteC are good:
* violation of Indigenous & treaty rights
* more than double the cost of greener alternatives
* vast loss of agricultural land in midst of food insecurity
* extreme environmental damage
* high hydro rates will slow decarbonization..
..And
* what we now know of the massive GHG climate impact of dams.
But the problem with making any & all of these arguments against #SiteC - & each of them should have disqualified this dam - is that using them almost implies the dam is even safely completable. It's not.
BREAKING: A former CEO of BC Hydro CEO & a veteran dam engineer say the BC government has failed in its oversight role. "Why #SiteC Construction Should Stop Today" by Marc Eliesen & Ken Farquharson #bcpolithetyee.ca/Analysis/2020/…
.."Unfortunately, this important government responsibility [dam safety] has rarely been mentioned as #SiteC has careened from one set of problems to another." - former BC Hydro CEO Marc Eliesen #bcpoli