Yesterday, BC Conservative Party leadership candidate Rick Peterson came out with some ideas regarding BC Hydro. Here is the text of the plan he presented:
BC Conservative Leadership candidate Rick Peterson today proposed ten “Power Smart Tips” for
Premier Christy Clark that will help “turn down the heat” for BC
ratepayers who are tired of backdoor BC Hydro rate increases to pay for
BC Liberal claims of a balanced budget.
In celebration of BC Hydro’s “October is Power Smart Month” campaign, Rick Peterson spoke to media and supporters in front of the crown corporation’s offices on Dunsmuir Street in downtown Vancouver this morning.
“I think it’s great that BC Hydro has an ‘October is Power Smart Month’ campaign,” said Peterson, “but let’s be honest and recognize that there’s really not much that’s “smart” about the way that Hydro is being run."
“And what’s worse, all this is happening under the watch of BC Liberal appointees who are sitting on the Hydro board, raking in lavish salaries, while everyone else in BC – especially seniors, fixed-income and low-income earners and those below the poverty line - are acutely feeling the pain of these user-fee increases.”
Peterson says that BC Hydro rate increases, reported to be 26% or higher for residential ratepayers, are needed to pay for a long-standing BC Liberal government practice of taking dividends from the public power company, at the expense of electrical infrastructure upgrades, to pay for BC Liberal spending.
“Crown corporations in BC under the Christy Clark government are out of control,” he said, “and BC Hydro is probably the worst of them. There is no business in the world that could pass on a 26% rate hike without heads rolling and yet the Christy Clark government rewards these decisions with lavish executive bonuses – it’s simply wrong,” stated Peterson
Peterson contrasted the federal Conservative government’s concern, as outlined in Wednesday’s Throne Speech, about helping individual consumers, with the approach taken by the BC Liberals under Christy Clark, who are downloading the cost of growing deficits on the backs of Hydro ratepayers.
“This is sloppy management, poor planning and lack of accountability at its worst. We need Christy Clark’s Liberals to take their hands out of the BC Hydro till. Turning BC Hydro around will be the first priority of a BC Conservative government under my leadership.”
Here are the “Ten Power-Smart Tips” that Peterson says are needed at BC Hydro:
In celebration of BC Hydro’s “October is Power Smart Month” campaign, Rick Peterson spoke to media and supporters in front of the crown corporation’s offices on Dunsmuir Street in downtown Vancouver this morning.
“I think it’s great that BC Hydro has an ‘October is Power Smart Month’ campaign,” said Peterson, “but let’s be honest and recognize that there’s really not much that’s “smart” about the way that Hydro is being run."
“And what’s worse, all this is happening under the watch of BC Liberal appointees who are sitting on the Hydro board, raking in lavish salaries, while everyone else in BC – especially seniors, fixed-income and low-income earners and those below the poverty line - are acutely feeling the pain of these user-fee increases.”
Peterson says that BC Hydro rate increases, reported to be 26% or higher for residential ratepayers, are needed to pay for a long-standing BC Liberal government practice of taking dividends from the public power company, at the expense of electrical infrastructure upgrades, to pay for BC Liberal spending.
“Crown corporations in BC under the Christy Clark government are out of control,” he said, “and BC Hydro is probably the worst of them. There is no business in the world that could pass on a 26% rate hike without heads rolling and yet the Christy Clark government rewards these decisions with lavish executive bonuses – it’s simply wrong,” stated Peterson
Peterson contrasted the federal Conservative government’s concern, as outlined in Wednesday’s Throne Speech, about helping individual consumers, with the approach taken by the BC Liberals under Christy Clark, who are downloading the cost of growing deficits on the backs of Hydro ratepayers.
“This is sloppy management, poor planning and lack of accountability at its worst. We need Christy Clark’s Liberals to take their hands out of the BC Hydro till. Turning BC Hydro around will be the first priority of a BC Conservative government under my leadership.”
Here are the “Ten Power-Smart Tips” that Peterson says are needed at BC Hydro:
- Immediately begin to reduce by 5% the total BC Hydro dividends demanded by the Christy Clark Government.
- Apply half of the dividend savings to stabilize residential and business Hydro rates negating the need for unsustainable rate hike increases.
- Apply the other half of dividend savings to much needed BC Hydro infrastructure upgrades and debt retirement.
- Fully adopt International accounting standards (IFRS) and put an immediate end to deferring to future years certain expenses that would normally be recorded in the current year’s financial statements.
- Freeze management staffing at current levels immediately for a 2-year period.
- Freeze total management salaries, pensions, benefits and bonuses immediately for a 2-year period.
- Implement an independent core services review with an attention focus on high ratio of management-to-front-line staff.
- Implement firm limits on executive bonuses and severance payouts.
- Reinstate the BC Utilities Commission overview of ALL BC Hydro operations and rate applications.
- Stop BC Hydro funding of opposing statements at the BC Utilities Commission.
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