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BC Hydro
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| BC Hydro | |
|---|---|
| Type | Crown Corporation |
| Founded | 1961 |
| Headquarters | British Columbia, Canada |
| Key people | Bob Elton, President & CEO[1] |
| Industry | Electricity |
| Employees | 4,203 (2006) |
| Website | www.bchydro.com |
BC Hydro and Power Authority is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia.
Commonly referred to as BC Hydro, it is one of the largest electric utilities in Canada, serving more than 1.7 million customers[2] in an area containing over 94 per cent of British Columbia's population is mandated to provide, "reliable power, at low cost, for generations." As a provincial Crown corporation, BC Hydro reports to the Minister of Energy and Mines, and is regulated by the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC). BC Hydro operates 30 hydroelectric facilities and three natural gas-fuelled thermal power plants. About 80 per cent of the province's electricity is produced by major hydroelectric generating stations on the Columbia and Peace rivers. BC Hydro's various facilities generate between 56,000 and 54,000 gigawatt hours of electricity annually, depending on prevailing water levels.[3]
Electricity is delivered through a network of 18,286 kilometres of transmission lines and 55,254 kilometres of distribution lines. For fiscal 2005, domestic electric sales volume reached 51,205 gigawatt hours. For fiscal 2005, net income was $402 million, which resulted in a return on equity of 14.24 per cent. On March 31, 2005, BC Hydro, its subsidiaries and British Columbia Transmission Corporation had 4,396 employees.[3]
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BC Electric started as a streetcar and lighting utility in Victoria, Vancouver and New Westminster. Power was generated by coal fired steam plants. Increasing demand in the Edwardian boom years meant BC Electric sought expansions through Hydro power at Buntzen Lake, and later at Stave Lake. Sensible growth and expansion of the power, streetcar and coal gas utilitites meant that BC Electric was a major company in the region.
By the first world war, private cars and jitneys were beginning to affect streetcar traffic. Also at this time, sawmills and factories converted to electricity, further increasing load. BC Electric erected more local hydro stations around the province. Similarly, small towns also built and operated their own power stations. More power AC and DC power lines were strung, though DC was on the way out as it could not travel distances.
New dams were planned, such as at Seton Portage, but the Great Depression affected business expansion. The post-war years saw increasing government involvement with the power utility. Organizations such as the BC Electrical Commission helped expand its aegis. Finally, BC Hydro was set up in 1962. By this time, BC Hydro had plants at the Hart Dam and Mission Hill, and had commenced vast projects on the Peace River and the Columbia River.[4]
Under the leadership of Dal Grauer, BC Hydro became the largest industrial company in BC. It built the first highrise in the city of Vancouver, and started projects on an unheard of scale. The W. A. C. Bennett Dam in Hudson's Hope, BC was the centre piece of this program. Other dams were planned for the Fraser River, the Stikine, and minor rivers. With increased capacity, Hydro exported power to the US, under the Columbia River Treaty.
These power exports became controversial as BC Hydro sells power to California to meet its peak summer load. During the Enron induced blackouts of 2003, BC Hydro was accused of price gouging.