Dear Editor,
BC Hydro rates are reportedly going up by about 27 per cent over the next three years. It seems like an awful lot of money until you take a look at the list of upgrading projects BC Hydro is taking on to fix and improve the province’s aging dams and transmission lines.
The latest upgrading project announced by BC Hydro is an upgrade to the Ruskin Dam and powerhouse near Mission. It’s going to cost nearly a billion dollars. Add to that another three-quarters of a billion dollars to upgrade the Mica and Revelstoke dams, and another half billion for the Bennett dam and so on, and it starts to add up fast.
I completely understand why these upgrades are needed and I support BC Hydro in doing so. Postponing this investment in upgrades has only led to artificially low BC Hydro rates which have not reflected the true cost of the electricity we use.
But most of all, as a grandmother, I consider the maintenance and upgrades we pay for today to be an investment in our grandchildren’s future. They deserve the same opportunity for prosperity we’ve enjoyed in this province, and because of that I don’t begrudge one penny of what’s needed to make sure they get that same opportunity for prosperity.
Trudy Gordon,
Burnaby, B.C.