The future of the Site C dam will be the focus of discussion in Prince George Friday night.
The British Columbia Utilities Commission will be hosting a community input session at the Ramada Hotel from 6-10 p.m.
The session comes a week after the commission delivered its preliminary report on the Site C inquiry to the provincial government, and to the public via the BCUC’s Site C inquiry website.
In the report, the Site C Inquiry Panel provides preliminary findings on a number of issues and identifies a number of areas where more information is required before any conclusions can be made. The full report is available for review on the BCUC’s Site C Inquiry website here: www.sitecinquiry.com.
The Panel’s preliminary findings are:
- the Site C Project is, as of June 30, 2017, on time for an in‐service date of November 2024;
- a reasonable estimate of the cost to terminate the project and remediate the site is $1.1 billion. However termination of the project would trigger incremental costs to replace the needed energy that would be produced by Site C with alternative sources of energy; and
- given the lack of clarity with respect to some of the costs the panel finds it premature to reach a conclusion as to the total costs for the project in the event it is suspended and restarted at a later date.
The panel has identified information it requires to make findings on a number of issues, including whether the project is currently on budget, the cost to BC Hydro ratepayers of continuing, suspending or terminating Site C and certain assumptions used in BC Hydro’s analysis of alternative sources of energy. The panel has asked BC Hydro to file additional information addressing these areas. It is typical in the BCUC’s review processes for a panel to identify further information required to complete its findings.
The community input sessions are open to all members of the public, including representatives of stakeholder organizations. Members of the public are invited to register to attend a community input session, and to add a request to speak if applicable.
Register online at www.sitecinquiry.com or by telephone at 1-844-815-6190. Walk-ins are welcome, space permitting, on a first come, first served basis. Making a submission at a community input session is equivalent to providing a written submission; however, only oral submissions will be received at the sessions.
