Williams Lake Mayor and Council penned a letter to Premier David Eby, insisting the government finalize a deal to keep Atlantic Power from shutting down.
“We need to get this deal closed, now more than ever with Donald Trump imposing tariffs on February 1.” says Councillor Scott Nelson.
The municipality has been in talks with the province and BC Hydro for more than twelve months, according to Nelson, with “no viable solution” has been found.
In the letter, Mayor Surinderpal Rathor writes that he believes “there is no doubt that there is enough suitable material that could be made available through some minor chances in policy direction.” Mayor Rathor goes onto say the changes would result in more “purchase opportunities”, and that better forest policies will impact all the residents in the Cariboo Chilcotin.
Keeping roughly 150 jobs, and according to Nelson contributing roughly “1.7 million dollars” into the local tax base.
Mayor Rathor writes “without immediate attention from BC Hydro,” there cannot be a solution.
“This just goes to show you the problems we are all facing in British Columbia, with this red tape,” says Nelson. “Four different ministries, plus the premier have all had their hands over this project, and we’re still not getting close.”
Nelson goes on to say with the [potentially] impending tariffs by newly inaugurated President Donald Trump, “this is the time we want to have home grown electricity.”
According to a documents filed by the B.C. Utilities commission, B.C. imported 13,600 gigawatt hours of electricity, nearly $1.4 billion, through Washington state and Alberta. Primarily generated by the burning of fossil fuels and use of Natural Gas, respectively.
Neslon says closing a deal with Atlantic Power that uses wood biomass to generate energy would not only be beneficial for the economies, it would be beneficial for the green energy iniatives the province is pushing forward. As well as keeping forests clear.
“This is extraordinarily important that the government get in and get a deal signed… It creates recycled energy out of this. It sweeps the bottom of our forests of bark, wood, waste… This is a win win for the province.”
As of writing, no deal has been discussed and closed with BC Hydro, and Atlantic Power’s expected shutdown date remains scheduled within the first quarter of this year.
“This would be a huge loss not just for Williams Lake, but for the province as a whole, especially when the American tariffs take a bigger bite, and a bigger punch… This is one of the largest independant power producing plants. This is the time you [as the province] want to lock these huge investments down in British Columbia. Protect local jobs, and keep our electricity local.”
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