Energy Politics
Marvin Shaffer, an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University and a public policy consultant, writes an op ed commentary in the Vancouver Sun Cheap power comes at a price
A striking feature of the government’s jobs strategy is the number of very electric-intensive projects it entails. The strategy calls for the development of new mines and liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, all of which will require very large amounts of electricity.
The first phase of the proposed LNG plant at Kitimat in itself will reportedly consume some 1.5 million megawatt hours of electricity per year, or roughly one-third of the entire output of the proposed Site C dam project.
Media commentators have questioned whether BC Hydro will be able to supply these large new requirements for electricity.