BC Hydro 2005 Integrated Electricity Plan (IEP) & BCTC s Capital Plan Terrace First Nations Info Session Final Meeting Notes

Transcription

1 Info Session Date and Location January 26, 2005 Best Western Inn, 4553 Greig Ave., Terrace, B.C. Attendees Name Mansell Griffith Reni Therrien Henry Stevens Ernst Poschenrieder Christine Munroe Albert Robinson Wilfred Bennett Interest/Organization Nisga a Lisims Government Metis Provincial Council of B.C. Gingolx Village Government Kitimat Village Council Kitsumkalum Band Dease River First Nation Kitselas First Nation BC Hydro Representatives Name Organization Responsibility Claire Marshall BC Hydro, Aboriginal Relations Host/Presenter/Note Coordinator Taker Brenda Goehring BC Hydro, Planning and Policy Presenter Rick McDougall BC Hydro, Acting Manager of Observer Aboriginal Relations Dept. Denise Mullen-Dalmer BC Transmission Corp. (BCTC) Presenter Cheryl Brooks Independent Consultant Facilitator Discussion Highlights Many issues were raised in relation to reliability of service - complaints of regular brownouts and the desire to have improved service to remote First Nations communities. Participants felt that protocol agreements should be negotiated between BC Hydro and First Nations before asking First Nations to contribute to broad policy commitments on behalf of BC Hydro. Concern that corporations have very different views of Aboriginal rights and title and what constitutes consultation and accommodation. Consultation policies Meeting held January 26, 2005 at Best Western Inn in Terrace Page 1 of 5

2 would be more effective if they were developed jointly with corporations and First Nations. Interest in economic development opportunities through the development of alternative energy projects in communities. Participants raised concerns that the resources in their traditional territories were being exported with the First Nations receiving very little benefit. Many concerns about the economic development impacts of transmission lines running through First Nations communities. 1. Introduction and Workshop Objective Cheryl Brooks provided opening remarks and stated the purpose of the meeting. The objectives of the meeting are: To enhance First Nations participants understanding of the electrical utility sector and regulatory processes, particularly opportunities for First Nations input and influence; To report back on the First Nations input to the 2004 Integrated Electricity Plan (IEP); To elicit and discuss First Nations values related to electricity planning; To discuss possible approaches to engage in on-going dialogue with First Nations on planning and other issues; To introduce the values based decision analysis tool. During last year s IEP information sessions, several First Nations participants mentioned that despite the separation of BC Hydro and British Columbia Transmission Corporation (BCTC) they still saw the companies as integrally linked and wanted to deal with them in a coordinated way. Based on this feedback, BC Hydro and BCTC have agreed to work together to coordinate First Nations communication and engagement activities regarding their respective long term planning processes. Last year many First Nations also told BC Hydro that they wanted to enhance their understanding and capacity to deal with energy related issues. These information sessions were designed to provide some understanding of the electricity regulation and on-going planning sessions will take place to provide further opportunities to increase capacity. Meeting held January 26, 2005 at Best Western Inn in Terrace Page 2 of 5

3 2. Overview of the Electricity Sector Claire Marshall and Denise Mullen-Dalmer started with an overview of the electricity sector. The following comments were made during this presentation: Remote Electrification/Reliability: We are presently served by Yukon Power and we re not happy with our relationship with them and the level of service that we re receiving. We pay more for power then most people. We only have single-phase power to Gingolith and we are planning on expanding our community through tourism. We are having problems with regular power outages. We only have single-phase power and we have an aggressive economic development plan and we will need more power to the community. We want to develop stand-alone power projects and run-of-river projects in some remote communities. We want to feed into the BC Hydro grid. Aboriginal Rights and Title: Concern that First Nations and corporations have different views of rights and title. Concern that corporations such as BC Hydro and BCTC do not have a good understanding of rights and title. A BC Hydro staff member said that BC Hydro tries to ensure that all of its employees has an understanding of Aboriginal rights and title issues by providing on-going training to keep employees up to date on evolving issues. A BC Hydro staff member said that unlike private companies, BC Hydro is a crown corporation and its engaged at the Treaty table similar to a Ministry. BC Hydro is engaged in negotiations to resolve historical grievances outside of the treaty process. 3. Integrated Electricity Plan (IEP) Brenda Goehring provided a presentation on the 2005 IEP. The following responses to questions and comments were made during this presentation: Meeting held January 26, 2005 at Best Western Inn in Terrace Page 3 of 5

4 Consultation and Engagement: Does BC Hydro have a policy on Consultation? BC Hydro has guidelines that it follows with respect to consultation on specific projects. These guidelines are consistent with the provincial governments. It also maintains specific, up-to-date information on First Nations traditional territory. Our Chief and Council takes the position that our resources are being exported for everyone else and there is nothing left for the First Nation. Future First Nations Engagement: Claire Marshall provided an overview of the proposed approach to First Nations engagement. The following comments and concerns were raised during this presentation: BC Hydro gets what they need from these processes but there is nothing in it for us. We are being asked to buy into a process without understanding what the other processes are for consultation and resolving historical grievances. Our community wants a protocol agreement with BC Hydro to deal with engagement processes like this one. Protocol agreements should be negotiated before you ask us to contribute to broad policy commitments on behalf of BC Hydro. Concern that most of the participants on the Provincial IEP Committee (PEIPC) will value cost over the environment. 4. Exercise on Electricity Development In pairs, participants completed the attached discussion guide on values related to electricity planning. Each group briefly reported out on their discussion. Flipchart notes from the exercise: 1) How does electricity affect your daily life? - Lights - Heat - Telecommunications - Tools, electronics 2) What happens when the power is unavailable? Meeting held January 26, 2005 at Best Western Inn in Terrace Page 4 of 5

5 - Food goes bad - Can t do dishes - Water supply interrupted - Must use coal lamps 3) What is the most important thing about the electricity that you receive? - Cost - Reliability - Low environmental impacts - Connection to the grid 4) What is most important about future transmission development? - Transmission prevents development in our communities - Cannot build under the lines - We had to negotiate with Alcan to have the transmission lines moved - Reserves are rendered useless and the land is encumbered - Transmission should not reduce land base 5. BC Transmission Corporation s Capital Plan Denise Mullen-Dalmer provided a presentation on BCTC s Capital Plan. The following comments were made during the presentation: We met with the MLA in our area to ask why they won t consider constructing a transmission line from Dease Lake to Good Hope Lake. He said that the return on investment wasn t high enough the cost is too high. A transmission line to Dease Lake is being considered right now outside of the Capital Plan. Denise will follow up to with the status of that project. Forest Kerr wants to build a transmission line to Dease Lake. It is also developing a run-of-river project but the transmission line would be long so there s debate about building it. Contact Details Website: Phone: (BC Hydro) iep.2005@bchydro.com Meeting held January 26, 2005 at Best Western Inn in Terrace Page 5 of 5