From Omineca Express

Using reasons argued by NDP MLAs John Horgan and Robin Austin, the B.C. Utilities Commission quashed a sweetheart deal between Alcan and BC Hydro. The power sales agreement would have seen Alcan earn windfall profits of more than 1,400 per cent for power generated at its Kitimat facility.

"It costs Alcan about five bucks to generate a megawatt-hour of electricity," said Horgan, the NDP critic for Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. "This sweetheart deal, negotiated in secret, would have had Hydro paying over $71 for that same megawatt-hour."

From TheTyee.ca

A tiny town in Northern B.C. has become a big little pain in the ass for the B.C. Liberals. Kitimat was in the news again this week when a provincial regulator quashed a power sale agreement between Alcan -- the aluminum company with a large operation in Kitimat -- and B.C. Hydro, the provincially owned energy utility.

Under the deal, B.C.'s ratepayers would have bought electricity from Alcan at a locked in price that is, according to many, way above the market rate. But on the last day of 2006 the B.C. Utility Commission ruled that the agreement was not in the public interest and cancelled it.

For the Liberals, the ruling comes as a blow to their plan to privatize energy production in the province (a plan Simon Fraser prof. John Calvert railed against in these pages in October.) And it likely comes at least partially thanks to a constant stream of objections from the mayor of Kitimat.

By John Calvert, Citizens for Public Power

Water is one of BC's most valuable public resources. Indeed, some would argue that it is the most valuable resource we have in the context of a continent whose useable supplies of fresh water are reaching their limits, especially in the US southwest and California. Our streams and rivers are also an important part of BC's cultural heritage, particularly for First Nations, and a source of enormous social and economic benefit for tourism, recreation, and enjoyment of nature. Water is a renewable resource whose value will remain for generations to come.