WHEREAS the line item for electricity on a municipalitys operating budget is often one of its larger expenditures; AND WHEREAS energy costs are expected to increase over the next decade, and it is important for municipalities and senior levels of government to work to find innovative ways to reduce this cost and find alternate sources of energy; AND WHEREAS BC Hydro has a system in place, identified as Net Metering, which requires the power generated at point A to be used at point A with only the excess power being sold to BC Hydro; AND WHEREAS such a system is desirable only if electrical loads are located at the same site at which the power is generated; AND WHEREAS there is no system in place that allows power to be produced at point A and used at point B by paying a rental or user fee to the power grid; AND WHEREAS a local government is disadvantaged in this system since power is used at multiple sites but cannot practically be generated at each location: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities lobby the provincial government to direct BC Hydro and other power producers to negotiate agreements with local governments that would allow for the utilization by the local government of self-generated power through the BC Hydro distribution grid.
Ministry of Energy, Mines Petroleum Resources Achieving electricity self-sufficiency in British Columbia will require a range of new power sources to be brought on line. To help make this happen, The BC Energy Plan: A Vision for Clean Energy Leadership, released on February 27, 2007 contains a policy action directing BC Hydro to establish a standing offer for clean electricity projects with no quota to encourage small and clean electricity generation projects. The program will have a streamlined and clearly defined application process with simplified purchase agreements. BC Hydro is proposed to accept proposals ranging from 50 kilowatts to 10 megawatts of clean electricity or high efficiency electricity cogeneration. Prices paid for the electricity in the standing offer program will be set and will be based on a regional breakdown of the prices paid in the 2006 Call for Tenders. This will provide small electricity suppliers such as local governments with more certainty, bring small power projects into the system more quickly, and help achieve governments goal of maintaining a secure electricity supply. BC Hydro is currently consulting with interested parties to determine what the details of the program might look like.
BC HYDRO On these resolutions B124 and LR14 we offer the following comments: As demand for electricity in BC is growing, we have an increasing gap between the amount of energy we produce and the amount we use in our province. Buying electricity from local generating resources is one of the ways we intend to fill the growing gap. We are open to exploring innovative solutions to filling the gap, and therefore welcome discussions with municipalities about potential generation projects. BC Hydro is currently planning competitive acquisition processes such as the 2007 Call for Power. We would welcome municipal government submissions for projects under this call and other potential future purchase offers. We have had discussions with both municipalities sponsoring these resolutions at the 2006 UBCM Convention, and we understand that officials from the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources have also met with Prince George to learn more about their proposal. Both resolutions may benefit from policy direction in the upcoming revised provincial Energy Plan which we expect will be released shortly. BC Hydro is supportive of small sustainable power projects as long as they do not negatively impact our existing operations; are aligned with our other future call for power processes; can be accommodate within our existing Water License Requirements; and are acceptable to our stakeholders e.g.; shareholder, regulator, other Independent Power Producers. We look forward to further work with municipalities and regional districts around the province as BC Hydro continues to work toward our goal of providing British Columbia with reliable power, at low cost, for generations.