BC Liberals Offer Free Electrical Power From Site C Dam As Carrot To LNG Projects?

Written by Grant G



As desperation sets in BC Liberals are offering more and more goodies, freebies and taxpayer subsidies to natural gas energy companies, this game of propaganda and illusion has morphed into a wholesale provincial sellout, making money from exporting LNG is now a secondary position taken by our BC Liberal Government, their original gambit of a big election lie and hail mary pass was rewarded with another 4 year mandate to govern, never expecting to win meant not having to fulfill outlandish election promises, particularly promised riches beyond our wildest dreams from LNG, but the fact is they did win and LNG is a dead loser..Now what?

This BC Liberal LNG fantasy at present is only being kept alive by a complicit corporate owned media, the fiscal numbers don`t add up, the long term numbers are delusional, nothing as foretold by our Government when it comes to LNG has come to fruition, yet there our media stands, cheerleading, writing fluff pieces based on government press releases, producing nothing of substance and an absolute refusal to take a cold hard look at the facts as presented...

Developments are coming fast on the LNG front, developments that our media hasn`t connected to the LNG giveaway, even the federal government has moved to help BC`s LNG dreams(and to help themselves on ship buying procurements from Korea)...Yes I am talking about Canada`s free-trade agreement with South Korea....This trade agreement means nothing to average Canadians, we don`t buy very much from the Koreans and they buy nothing manufactured in Canada, we have a ballooning trade deficit with S Korea,....So why was this free trade deal pushed through...?

The United Kingdom(Britain) just bought 4 large military vessels from S. Korea for about $1.1 billion dollars, these 4 military ships are bigger, more advanced and built, United Kingdom is getting 4 military vessels that are bigger and better and cheaper than what Canada will be receiving from the Irving shipyards in Halifax or Seaspan in B.C..., in fact these S Korean vessels(4 of them) are cheaper than the cost of 2 proposed military vessels to be built in Halifax...,furthermore, those 2 military vessels to be built by the Irving shipyards still haven`t cleared the drafting room table, meaning they are still just fictional boats, ghost ships..

Rumor has it that Stephen Harper has stalled military naval vessel designing and builds until after our next federal election before the Harper Government informs both the provinces and the Canadian public that S. Korea is getting federal shipbuilding contracts, that would definitely explain why federal shipbuilding procurement dollars have been pushed well past the next election date, and it also explains why Canadian shipbuilding contracts announced in 2010 have yet to cut even 1 piece of naval steel..

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Five times the price ... for smaller ships

Britain, for example, opted to build its four new naval supply ships much more cheaply, at the Daewoo shipyard in South Korea. The contract is for roughly $1.1 billion Cdn. That's for all four. By contrast, Canada plans to build just two ships, in Vancouver, for $1.3 billion each. So Canada's ships will be roughly five times more costly than the British ones.
But there's a twist. Canada's supply ships will also carry less fuel and other supplies, because they'll be smaller — about 20,000 tonnes. The U.K. ships are nearly twice as big — 37,000 tonnes. Canadians will lay out a lot more cash for a lot less ship.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/shipbuilding-memo-shows-more-delays-cost-overruns-1.2563948


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In other words Stephen Harper is playing a stall game until after the next election and is banking on S. Korea to bail his Conservative government out,....South Korea may well bailout our military, but at a cost, that cost is thousands of Canadian jobs....... S Korea is not important to Canada per se, but a South Korean free-trade agreement is of great importance to multi-national corporations trying to save build $dollars on proposed Canadian industrial projects, those $dollar savings will come at the expense of even more "in-Canada jobs"..

British Gas ....They have proposed a British Columbia LNG plant, and British Gas was already advising the BC Government that their LNG plant would be built in South Korea, built in modular form and shipped to Canada`s west coast for assembly, and in fact it`s not just British Gas, it`s PETRONAS, Chevron, Sinopec, CONOC and Petro China, every LNG plant proposal for British Columbia by proponents have decided if they build in B.C. to have mainframes and large components built in South Korea and shipped to B.C. where workers will assemble the pieces like a jigsaw puzzle, and again, this will come at the expense of Canadian jobs and Canadian manufacturers..

 Here it is directly from British Gas...

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"BG intends to build a facility on Ridley Island capable of producing 21 million tonnes of LNG a year. Called Prince Rupert LNG, it would be built overseas in modules and shipped to Prince Rupert for assembly.
 Even so, the plant would create 3,500 jobs during construction,

 250 permanent direct jobs and another 250 spinoff jobs.

 BG says it is planning to build it in two phases, beginning in 2016.
The first phase — two seven-million-tonne-a-year processing units, or trains — is to be completed by 2021" 

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So what we have in the making is another betrayal of Canadian workers by both Stephen Harper and the BC Liberal Government, another sop to big industry, British Gas had announced its intentions to buy LNG plant modules from South Korea even before the free-trade agreement was on the table not to mention concluded, now British Gas and other LNG companies have even more incentive to use S. Korean built LNG mainframe modules, this will result in even fewer BC LNG jobs, especially for domestic manufacturers and service providers..

I believe this South Korean free-trade agreement is a direct result of foreign national corporations complaining about the high-cost of Canadian manufacturers and Canadian labour(High-cost compared to cheap Asian labour, Canadians will never compete on a global level with Asian labour)

 That`s why tariffs against cheap labour jurisdictions need to be maintained, our high-cost of living and one-time stringent environmental regulations need that fiscal edge...(In my opinion)

http://www.thetyee.ca/Opinion/2014/03/14/Canada-Korea-Free-Trade-Agreement/

South Korea also operates like Stephen Harper`s government, workers in South Korea get arrested, beaten and worse everytime they complain, even if they complain about outsourcing, privatization and lost jobs, Canada has lost any moral authority it once had by colluding with tyrannical regimes, Stephen Harper legitimizes human right abuses, South Korea is not our friend, or a friend to workers..
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South Korea: Stop arrests of trade union leaders and respect the rights of striking workers

The South Korean authorities must rein in the police and respect the rights of striking workers, Amnesty International said after a massive police raid on the offices of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) in Seoul on Sunday.
 
“This police raid violated international human rights and labour standards in many ways – from arresting trade union leaders in retaliation for strike action to the police using unnecessary and excessive force that resulted in workers being injured,” said Polly Truscott, Deputy Asia-Pacific Programme Director at Amnesty International. 
 
 “The South Korean authorities must stop unlawful police raids and arrests of trade unionists, and respect the rights of striking workers.”
 
Some 130 trade unionists were arrested on Sunday when thousands of police raided the headquarters of the KCTU, in response to a strike by railway workers over fears that large-scale layoffs may be looming. Several workers were injured when police used pepper spray.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/south-korea-stop-arrests-trade-union-leaders-and-respect-workers-right-strike-2013-12-24

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Christy Clark, Rich Coleman and our media are now aware that the promised riches from LNG will never accrue, the game for them has shifted, promised monies and riches are so far off in the future that today`s media and politicians know that they will be long gone by then and therefore will not have to answer questions or explain away why our piggy banks are empty, the game has shifted to keeping the illusion alive, that illusion now requires a couple of projects to proceed and that`s what this post is about, the giveaways, the freebies, the subsidies, the lies, they need to be explained, explored, analyzed and dissected, an honest media would inform the public of the grand ruse, of the mirage, the two-way mirrors and sleight of hand, a diligent media would protect the public from these snake oil salesmen, but alas, our media has opened snake oil retail franchises..

Before we roll out some numbers, let me once again describe how these BC Liberals are lying their faces off about LNG jobs.....Remember the BC Liberals saying this..

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http://engage.gov.bc.ca/lnginbc/job-creation/

Job Creation

As the LNG industry develops, it will create jobs all over the Province.

 

 

In fact, corporate offices have already opened in the lower mainland and demand for labour is growing in northern B.C. The LNG industry will create thousands of jobs in the natural gas sector.

These jobs will include direct and indirect employment during the construction phase as well as long-term operations.

 

 

Based on a current forecast of 5 plants in operation by 2021:

 

 

• 21,600 jobs will be directly involved in the building of LNG export facilities and associated pipelines.—

• 41,900 jobs will be created in the industries that supply goods and services during the peak construction phase.—

• 2,400 permanent jobs are required to operate and maintain the plants and pipelines on an ongoing basis.

61,700 jobs are required to support LNG operations including workers required to drill, produce, process and transport the natural gas required to feed the export facilities.

In addition to these jobs, there will be thousands of spin-off opportunities created and supported as result of LNG. For example: When a welder earns income, the money spent on their cost of living is injected into the economy. By spending their wage on things like buying clothes, eating in restaurants or renovating a home, the welder supports the financial well-being of the community and indirect jobs for their neighbors.


Recently, the B.C. government released a Natural Gas Workforce Strategy and Action Plan in collaboration with industry and training authorities.
Our action plan outlines the employment demands expected from LNG as well as details on how government will prepare people for new jobs.


Skills and core industrial certification requirements, as well as new postsecondary programs, will be created to ensure British Columbians are trained for new, high paying jobs in the resource sector.

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61,000 jobs required to support 3 LNG plants, that is after construction job numbers, a massive 61,000 jobs...

Australia has LNG plants, in fact they have the world`s most expensive LNG plant, Chevron`s Gorgon plant, a whopping cost of near $60 billion to build, with Australian manufacturers getting the work, almost all the work, ....So how many jobs would that massive Gorgon LNG plant generate...Let`s go have a look..

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Benefits[edit]

Economic modelling carried out in 2008 as part of the environmental impact assessment process, forecast the following macroeconomic impacts (based on a 30-year period):

• 6000 jobs in Western Australia at the peak of the construction phase
• more than 3500 direct and indirect jobs sustaining throughout the life of the project
• an increase in national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of A$64.3 billion (in net present value terms)
• A$33 billion of expenditure on locally purchased goods and services
• additional government revenue of about A$40 billion (in 2009 dollars)^[18]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorgon_gas_project
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So how come Australia`s massive Gorgon LNG plant is creating only 3500 direct and indirect permanent jobs through the 30 years of the life of the project when here in British Columbia our government is claiming more than 17,000 more permanent direct and indirect jobs than what the Australian government is claiming (for each LNG plant)...Who is lying, Australian government.....or the BC Liberals...we know who is lying..meanwhile B.C. LNG plant builders will be buying almost exclusively from South Korea, complete modules and mainframes, this means very little domestic manufacturing or fabricating will be done in Canada.

 Our BC Liberal government is claiming 61,000 permanent direct and indirect jobs from 3 LNG plants, or if you like..over 20,000 permanent direct and indirect jobs from each LNG plant, that is 6 fold more than Australia, and as  mentioned in previous posts, if our LNG industry needs that many employees to support 250 LNG plant workers...The industry can`t succeed on those margins..

 So desperate are the BC Liberals to have an LNG riches fantasy continue they are in full blown asset giveaway mode, no carbon tax for LNG producers in B.C.,,,only we consumers will pay, any illusion of lowering BC`s greenhousegas emissions are gone with LNG, these behemoths blast tons of GHGs...

Ok, so now LNG plant builders can get S Korean built modules for LNG plants even cheaper with a free trade agreement, LNG plants will pay no carbon tax no matter how much they pollute, and access, access has been granted, LNG companies can take pipeline shortcuts through parks, protected areas and conservancies, ...thanks to a complicit BC Liberal corporate controlled government..

http://globalnews.ca/news/1187960/watch-proposed-changes-to-bc-parks-act-worry-environmentalists/

So let`s recap, cheaper modules for LNG plants shipped to BC from south Korea, no carbon tax having to be paid on their massive emissions, also, parks, protected areas, conservancies and our environmental no go zones are being diminished at the behest of these foreign national companies, and even the BC Liberal`s first tentative draft of proposed LNG taxation and royalty framework has been outright rejected by the LNG industry...

That framework was such...LNG companies would pay a 1-1/2% percent tax until build costs have been recouped, once build costs have been recouped taxation and royalties will rise to 7%....At those levels of taxation Christy Clark`s LNG revenue promises for our province will never accrue.....Furthermore these taxation levels have been thoroughly rejected by the LNG industry..This does not bode well for British Columbia`s finances.

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/energy/Energy+companies+balking+level+taxation/9541861/story.html?__lsa=3041-ca14


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(MervAdey Jul 23

@TildaFavel Headline - LNG expected revenue falls by 300 billion per month during 2nd quarter of 2013 . #bcpoli http://twitpic.com/d4a6fq

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There is more on the giveaway front, in Australia, in Qatar, in fact most LNG liquefication plants burn so much electricity to freeze natural gas that they don`t use electricity generated by massive dams or by hundreds of little run of river projects, these electric power gobblers use natural gas to create their own, at source electricity, they burn natural gas, convert gas which they have ready access to....to create electricity...This explains their massive green house gas emitting ways...

Well, that appears not to be the case in British Columbia, the BC Liberal government is so desperate to keep their snake oil game running that they are prepared to offer another massive taxpayer funded dole as a carrot to these companies and this one will be very expensive for you the taxpayer

Site C dam is the carrot, a $12 billion dollar taxpayer cost, plus a $1.4 billion dollar transmission line connection(s).....But this too is a false dichotomy, because...Site C will never have enough energy to power the amount of LNG plants Christy Clark has promised, ..Site C will produce 1100 MW of power per year...1 large LNG plant will consume about 800 to 900 MW of power per year....That means at most Site C dam could power 1 LNG plant and about 1/3rd of a second LNG plant...If Christy Clark and Rich Coleman were to be believed, B.C. having 10 LNG plants, or even 6 LNG plants B.C. would need 4 to 6 massive Site C dams...That would cost BC taxpayers over $100 billion for all those dams ,all for LNG, in other words Site C might power 1 LNG plant and 1/3rd of another plant but every other new LNG operation will be burning gas and spewing large amounts of greenhouse gasses..

However, we won`t have that many LNG plants, Site C(the carrot) has been offered up to the first 2 LNG proposals that are first to the finish line!..

Why won`t our British Columbia media report this scam, this fraud, this boondoggle in the making..?

Site C dam and transmission network is a minimum $12 billion dollar taxpayer hit...And since B.C. has no money, this would be borrowed money, $12 billion dollars borrowed, transmission lines, maintenance and amortization(interest charges) we are looking at a $20 billion dollar cost to taxpayers(minimum)

The BC Liberal government is in fast-track mode on Site C, they propose construction on Site C to start by the spring of 2015...The timeline is to coincide with LNG plant build completions, everything with Site C has been fast-tracked, in fact 2 failed Site C builders were given $200,000 each for failed bids..?

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/b-c/site-c-dam-not-approved-yet-b-c-hydro-planning-two-work-camps-1.887138


So now the BC Liberals have forgiven greenhouse gas emissions, removed our carbon tax for LNG companies, removed protections for parks and protected areas, offered a taxation royalty scheme that will never accrue any real $dollars... Christy Clark promised voters unbelievable riches, yet our government`s taxation royalty scheme has the LNG industry balking and barking?.... and now all of a sudden we are going to provide free electricity for any LNG company that actually builds a project, that carrot will be a $20 billion dollar taxpayer cost..

British Columbia should pass a law prohibiting any BC Liberal from doing anything, negotiating or planning anything with electricity or BC Hydro Because, as of 2013 British Columbia has an excess of electricity, that excess is intermittent soft power, run of river power, which produces most of their power each spring season during what is called the "Freshet" ..snow run-off and heavy rains...This electricity BC Hydro is selling at a yearly $600 million dollar loss, we are paying over $100 dollars for mega watt hour for this IPP soft power and selling it for the spot market price, roughly $30 dollars per mega watt hour...This electricity selling boondoggle rip-off was created by Gordon Campbell and his brother Michael Campbell, companies like Plutonic power, BC Liberal insiders by the boatload got directorships and jobs with these private power profiteers, all at the public taxpayer expense, at the expense of wild salmon and pristine river systems..

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While there is no direct evidence of conflict of interest, there seems to be a troublesome pattern of BC Governement and Liberal party insiders being employed by these power corporations. Many have inside knowledge of government policy and processes that probably could lead to the enrichment of the companies that many have moved to.

Mark Grant, BC Liberal executive director, resigns December 12, 2008 to join Rupert Peace Power.David Cyr, former Assistant to BC Liberal Minister Mike de Jong, is now a director at Plutonic Power.Robert Poore, recently worked under the Provincial Revenue Minister of the Province of BC, now is a senior director at Plutonic Power.Tom Syer, who has held a variety of senior positions in the BC Government including Gordon Campbell’s Deputy Chief of Staff, is now a director at Plutonic Power.Bill Irwin, after holding key positions in the BC Ministries of Land and Water, and Crown Lands, now is a director at Plutonic Power.Bruce Young has held several high profile positions with the BC Liberal party and lobbied his own party on behalf of Katabatic Power is listed as a director of Atla Energy.Stephen Kukucha, former senior policy advisor for the BC Ministry of Environment, is now president and CEO of Atla Energy.Bob Herath, former Assistant Regional Water Manager for the BC Ministry of Environment is now with Syntaris Power.Paul Taylor, after his work as President and CEO of crown corporation ICBC as well as high level positions in the BC Government, is now President and CEO of Naikun Wind Energy Group.Michael J. O’Conner, former President and CEO of Crown Corporation BC Transit, now holds senior positions at Naikun.Jackie Hamilton, formerly held various BC Government environmental assessment and regulatory management positions, is now a VP at Cloudworks Energy.Geoff Plant, former BC Liberal Attorney General, now chair of Renaissance Power.

 http://houseofinfamy.blogspot.ca/2009/04/bc-liars-line-up-for-gree-d-n-during.html


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Rafe Mair has much more to say on British Columbia`s $100 billion dollars in run of river power buying contracts that are bankrupting both BC Hydro and our province..

http://commonsensecanadian.ca/rafe-mair-video-liberals-bankrupting-bc-with-171-billion-debt-legacy/


BC Liberal fascist Gordon Campbell promised riches from run of river power, his dream of being an  electrical energy exporting superpower turned out to be a ruse, fool`s gold, snake oil, a scam and we BCers are going to be paying the price for decades to come, you must have noticed the massive BC Hydro rate increases, April 1st /2014 BC Hydro rates are rising another 9%...Part of a 3 year 40% rate increase that is scheduled, and approved..

Now the BC Liberals want to expend $20 billion dollars in build, transmission and amortization charges, a $20 billion taxpayer dollar carrot to lure an LNG plant or 2 to build in British Columbia...

Well...We need to have a look, first off, LNG plants burn natural gas to produce electricity for 2 reasons.

#1-Most countries don`t have gobs of excess electricity.

#2-Most countries don`t have gobs of virtually FREE ELECTRICITY...

According to BC Hydro, Site C dam if built will create enough electricity to power "450,000" homes..

How much is your average electrical bill per home?....I would guess/estimate, with massive residential rate increases last year and this year, and 2 more rate increases coming in 2015 and 2016 that the electrical bill per home(450,000 homes) is at a minimum...$1000 dollars, probably $2000 dollars per year..

 Site C dam, if built will, according to BC Hydro..

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Over the next 20 years, electricity demand will continue to grow. BC hydro’s current forecast shows demand increasing by approximately 40 per cent, driven by a projected population increase of more than one million residents and continued economic expansion. the potential for load from B.C.’s emerging LNG industry could further increase demand.

As extensive as bC hydro’s electricity supply is, it will not be enough to meet the needs of BC hydro customers. there is a need for new energy and dependable capacity resources within the next 10 to 15 years. to meet this growing need, BC hydro is proposing the Site C Clean energy Project, a third dam on the Peace River. Once built, the project would provide 1,100 MW of much-needed dependable capacity and 5,100 GWh of energy per year – enough to power the equivalent of about 450,000 homes per year in B.C. 

http://www.bchydro.com/content/dam/BCHydro/customer-portal/documents/projects/site-c/site-c-business-case-summary.pdf


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450,000 homes...At $1000 dollars per year per home is.....$450 million per year in monies returned to BC Hydro(BC Government)..or if each home electrical bill for those 450,000 homes was $2000 per year ...BC Hydro would receive each year from those 450,000 homes...$900 million dollar return each year..

For now let`s use the lower number...BC hydro if they build Site C dam should expect a minimum $450 million dollar per year return on that much power ...That rate of return on a $20 billion expenditure($450 million per year), on the Site C dam, transmission lines and amortization it would take 25 years minimum to pay for the Site C investment...However, 25 years to pay off that debt is with BC Hydro/BC Government getting back a return sum of a minimum $450 million per year...

Well, what if I told you that these LNG companies(1 or 2 LNG Plants at most) that would use Site C power will be paying less than $50 million per year for all of Site C`s power!...

That`s right people, Site C is a massive $20 billion dollar carrot for the LNG industry..

Over 30 years these LNG companies will pay a mere $1.5 billion for that power, it will cost you the taxpayer $20 billion dollars to provide that power..

The ruse, Fool`s gold, the scam, BC`s media refuse to examine or call out this Liberal government on what appears to be an.... in your face as plain as day LNG scam....also known as corporate welfare, fascism!

2 LNG plants over 30 years will pay British Columbia in natural gas royalties at most $300 million per year, yet they will receive free hydro electric power and transmission lines..

The game, these BC Liberals will attempt to hide the Site C dam electricity subsidy and only talk of royalties, the cost of providing electricity, a cost borne by B.C. Taxpayers($20 billion dollars) will be buried, in other words these 2 LNG plants over their 30 year lifetime at most will pay for the Site C dam in lieu of royalties, that is a best case scenario..

Site C dam according to BC Hydro can power 450,000 homes per year, at a minimum if we had 450,000 homes of power, yearly electrical bills would be at minimum $1000 dollars, probably $2000 dollars, because of Gordon Campbell and the BC Liberal`s IPP run of river boondoggle BC Hydro is losing $600 million per year in electricity sales, we are in fact buying IPP power at over $100 per mega watt hour and selling it at about $30 dollars, buy high and sell low never works...Unless you are a BC Liberal spindoctor

If BC Hydro had that Site C power for export we could expect a return of $450 million to $900 million per year but because of Gordon Campbell we now lose a fortune every year..

Now these BC Liberals are prepared to give free electricity to LNG producers as a carrot, a carrot to accept their royalty scheme, and a scamming scheme it is because now these so-called royalties payments will really be a defacto electricity charge..

In other words, Christy Clark and the BC Liberals are offering free electricity to these behemoth energy hogs, a $20 billion dollar British Columbia taxpayer carrot, over 30 years B.C. might receive enough LNG royalties to pay for Site C dam build costs and amortization, meanwhile our...

Meanwhile our natural gas reserves will have been depleted, are water despoiled, our environment disrespected and taxpayers debased..


Yes indeed, Christy Clark`s financial forecast for LNG has evaporated, LNG job numbers as advertised by the BC Liberals for British Columbia deliberately fraudulent, cost to our environment ignored, flood the Peace river agricultural reserve as a free sop for LNG exporters, a $20 billion dollar taxpayer sop..

Meanwhile Vaughn Palmer musses with his hair, Keith Baldrey picks gum off his shoes while dreaming silently about having real hair, Sean Leslie fantasizes about cold beer in every possible public place, Bill Good hires a domestic to carry around his monster sized wine glass, Vancouver Sun and Province agree to share BC Liberal press releases, Global BC, CKNW and our legislative reporters will continue reporting nothing, continue with their selective amnesia, they will continue as enemies of British Columbia while we taxpayers pay LNG companies to take our gas for a song..

http://therealstory.ca/2013-07-24/bc-liberals/lame-ducks

Can`t you people see what is going on here, does anyone care, media care?...

Hey you media bigwigs, just pose one question to the BC Liberals on Site C dam...How much money are LNG companies going to pay for the electricity?.......... it`s just that easy!


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