BC HYDRO and the Site C Dam



Conceptual design of the proposed
Site C dam on the Peace River

Recently there has been a lot in the news with regards to BC Hydro.  There has been talks about possible rate increases of up to 50% … numerous proposed and coming online Run of River projects … and Hydro looking at existing power streams and ones that were / are on the books.

One of these happens to be the proposed Site C Dam on the Peace River.

I did have some one ask about this, at which point I emailed BC Hydro to make a few inquiries?  My email of March 24^th follows below …

From: Alan Forseth [mailto:alfman55@hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2011 4:15 PM
To: Project Team, Site C
Subject: BC Hydro site "C" project

Good afternoon ...

There has been lots of talk in the media in recent months and years with regards to new hydro projects, possible rate hikes, run of river proposals etc.   I noticed more on the BC Hydro website regarding Site "C" and that the project is now in the Stage 3 -- Environmental and Regulatory Review -- process.

I am wondering if you might be able to help me with a couple of questions??

During the first two stages, can you tell me the number of people that were employed, the type of work this was (professional, trades, labourers).  I am also wondering how well people from the north were able to benefit from this project compared to people hired from other areas of the province ... and Canada.

During the current 3rd stage, what kind of people / trades are being employed, how many, and where do they work (at the project, office else where, research labs??) -- again are they people from the local area, other areas of the province, or from other provinces in Canada

Lastly ... should the project go ahead, what kind of employment numbers would there be for men and women, what kind of payroll and taxes would it would generate -- and what benefits would the province would see, as well as the people and businesses of the region.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing back on these questions.

Sincerely, Alan Forseth

I did receive a response a little over a week ago (April 4^th), however there has been nothing new to report yet.

Hello Allan,

We are working on a response to your questions. We appreciate your patience.

Thank you,
Emilie

I will be interested to hear back from them … and I’ll be sure to let you know once I find out what the folks at BC Hydro have to say.

I’m Alan Forseth in Kamloops, with the thoughts of one conservative.