The B.C. The provincial appointed a new “special adviser” to give Site C a “new look” after BC Hydro expressed serious considerations about the timing and budget of the previous dam allocation this morning.
At a press conference today, B.C. The Minister of Energy, Mining and Petroleum Resources, Bruce Ralston, said the province appointed former Deputy Finance Minister Peter Milburn as an adviser, who is now about to report on his findings on the allocation in the fall.
The announcement comes after BC Hydro presented its latest progress report at Site C with British Columbia. Public Utilities Commission, which noted that the company is no longer convinced that it can only succeed on the initial commissioning date of the first production unit of the dam at the end of 2023, or on the scheduled date 2024 for the final commissioning date of the allocation as a whole.
Despite this, Ralston stated that abandoning the allocation, a key component of the energy infrastructure plan to spice up commercial progression in northern British Columbia, as well as facilitating the operation of the LNG Canada liquefied herbal fuel allocation, is not an option.
In this regard, Ralston blamed the former liberal government for explicitly pushing Site C “beyond the point of no return.”
“When we [the NDP] came to government in 2017, we had a very serious discussion about the assignment and we made the resolution to move on,” Ralston said. “So I’m not sure [abandoning C] is a realistic alternative. I will await Mr Milburn’s opinion on this matter.”
Site C is one of the most discussed infrastructure allocations in British Columbia. because of its scale, cost, potential economic benefits and negative environmental impact. Ralston stated that the existing government had addressed a number of “cost pressures” on the allocation by March, however, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the challenge when BC Hydro reduced the paints at Site C to adhere to provincial aptitude guidelines.
Ralston noted that BC Hydro is on track to complete the fun of the river, a major milestone in determining the final commissioning date of the assignment, until the fall. But he added that he was “very concerned” about BC Hydro’s new charges and schedules report, and that’s the main explanation for which he appointed Milburn for his new position.
“We’ll see what leads us, ” said Ralston.
The Minister noted that other assignments such as LNG Canada did not report being threatened by lack of certainty at Site C (despite relief in paintings at its sites), adding that, in the end, LNG allocation is still on track. take advantage of the province’s CleanBC plan to supply low-emission energy to the public.
“I think we can all see that COVID-19 created demanding situations that none of us could have foreseen a few months ago,” he said. “These reports provide an initial review of how COVID-19 caused uncertainty with the allocation schedule, as well as adding load pressures to your budget.”
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