BC GOVERNMENT BUDGET INCLUDES TRANSMISSION LINE
THE NORTHWEST Transmission Line has officially become part of the provincial government’s spending plans, indicate budget details released March 2.
The previously-announced cost of $404 million is on a list of construction projects being planned as is the expectation of a $130 million cheque from the federal government to help pay for the line.
Local governments and mining companies have been pushing for the construction of a power line running up north along Hwy37 North, saying that power from the provincial grid is less expensive and more reliable than relying on diesel generators.
Byng Giraud from the Association for Mineral Exploration B.C., which has been active in lobbying for the line’s construction, said it was good to see the transmission line finally be acknowledged in a provincial budget.
“It’s there, including the money from the federal government. And there’s a completion date of late 2010,” he said.
“The work to get this line built probably began seven or eight years ago and I’ve been involved for about four years and it’s good to see it,” Giraud added.
“I think it’s a real testament to the people in the area that they were not going to give up,” he said.
“And now that we’ve come this far, we just can’t sit on our hands. There’s still work to do,” Giraud continued.
Skeena NDP MLA Robin Austin is more skeptical of any plans the province has for this year to begin construction of the line.
“It’s actually pretty disappointing,” said Austin last week. “If you look way into the budget, you’ll find that there’s no money for this year. In the three-year plan for crown corporations, it’s further on.”
“Here [energy minister Blair] Lekstrom has been promising there’s money but there isn’t. What they are waiting for is for a private partner to then determine how much they will really pay,” Austin continued.
Energy ministry officials say the amount of taxpayers money being spent on the line will drop.
“The province is still in discussions with the private sector to obtain additional support for Northwest Transmission Line construction. We have every confidence the parties will reach agreement,” the ministry said in an email last week.
Still to be decided is how much the province will charge companies who want to take power from the line.
“The province is currently analyzing tariff options … but no definitive decisions will be made until the private sector discussions conclude,” the email continued.
In any event, the current provincial plan to put $274 million into the line ups its financial commitment from an earlier version of the line plan in 2007.
Back then, the line was to cost $400 million and the province had lined up NovaGold Resources as partner with a $158 million payment as it wanted power for its Galore Creek copper and gold property.
But NovaGold and partner Teck Cominco shelved Galore Creek when costs escalated out of control and soon after, the province stopped work on the line plan.
The current configuration came about when the province said it would at least start work on the environmental assessment.
Last September, the federal government announced its $130 contribution from its Green Infrastructure Fund.
In any event, the line must first get approval from the provincial Environmental Assessment Office.
The B.C. Transmission Corporation, which will build the line, submitted its plans the end of January and the environmental office has now reported back, saying the corporation needs to do some more work on its application before a full-fledged review can start.
But environmental assessment official Kathy Eichenberger says the amount of information missing is not extensive nor should it be difficult to gather together.
“With a project of this size, that’s not too unusual. The corporation has already told us it has the information,” she said last week.
Eichenberger said the transmission corporation’s application takes up eight binders, each one being two and a half inches thick.
“Around here, we tend to measure things in metres as opposed to feet,” said Eichenberger. “It’s a large volume of material.”
Once environmental assessment officials get the information they need from the transmission corporation and are then satisfied the application is complete, the review can officially start.
The review period lasts 180 days but applicants can ask that the review clock stop ticking if case something unforeseen does arise.
Once complete, the review is gone over by assigned cabinet ministers before a decision to approve or deny the development is made.
