How Green is the British Columbia Energy Plan?

The BC Creek Protection Society in association with the UVIC Kayak Club invites you to attend a free 1-hour public lecture critiquing the sustainability of the provincial Energy Plan, presented by noted economist Dr. Marvin Shaffer.

Thursday, November 15th 2007

7 PM

McKINNON Building ROOM 150
University of Victoria

Location: http://www.uvic.ca/buildings/mck.html

Parking: Lot #2 http://www.uvic.ca/maps/parkingmap.html

Dr. Shaffer will present a general overview of three research papers critiquing the economic and environmental impacts of the provincial government’s Energy Plan, and explore sustainable, socially responsible alternatives.

Abstract

As part of its Take Back the Power campaign for sustainable public power generation, COPE 378 commissioned independent research under the direction of consulting economist Dr. Marvin Shaffer, Adjunct Professor at the Public Policy Program, Simon Fraser University.

Dr. Shaffer’s research focused on the provincial government’s policy bias towards the rapid and widespread development of private power production. The government has forbidden BC Hydro from developing new power generation projects (with the exception of some projects at existing sites) placing its future generation needs in the hands of Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

The province’s current Energy Plan is a policy of buying too much, made worse by buying high and selling low. It is not sustainable, nor is it in the public interest. The Plan:

· Exaggerates the need for new power supply in the province
· Encourages the development of high cost, relatively low value power sources
· Significantly undermines conservation efforts

Overall, Dr. Shaffer’s research points out that despite the green veneer, the province’s Energy Plan is designed more than anything else to artificially increase the market for new IPP supply. A truly green strategy would start first with minimizing the need for new supply. It would then instruct BC Hydro to acquire or develop whatever new resources it unavoidably needs in the best possible manner taking all economic, environmental, and social factors into account. The Energy Plan simply does not do that.

For more information, please go to PublicpowerBC to download the three papers, or visit the BCCPS website.