The BC Utilities Commission will begin an economic review the Site C dam a week today.
The BCUC is third party watch dog responsible for regulating service rates and standards. The previous Liberal government never consulted BCUC about the Site C dam.
Announced today, the provincial government has asked the BCUC to confirm whether BC Hydro is on budget and on time and provide ratepayers with advice on whether to move forward with, pause or stop the project. The review will begin August 9th.
Minister of Energy and Mines Michelle Mungall says the Site C construction will continue while the review is underway.
“Once we have the final report, government will consider the advice from the BC Utilities Commission along with other environmental and First Nations considerations and make a final decision on the future of Site C.”
Stopping the project while awaiting the results would also put 2,200 people out of business.
“They may be telling us to move ahead with Site C, they may be telling us to stop Site C, and whatever they do advise us to do, we have to decide then back at Cabinet. We don’t want to preempt any potential decision going forward.”
Mungall says there will be a preliminary report due on September 20th, and the review will be finished by November 1st.