Critics fear that private power projects will cost more money to British Columbians in the long run -- driving up our electricity bills and hamstringing our public utility company, B.C. Hydro.
And it's becoming a major election issue -- the number of private companies who plan to develop hydroelectric power from B.C. rivers has soared since the B.C. Liberals took power in 2001.
"It's unfair, and it's going to bankrupt our public utility," said Melissa Davis of Citizens for Public Power.
B.C. Hydro has been the traditional developer of power projects such as the huge Mica Dam north of Revelstoke that provide most of B.C.'s power. While those dams cost a lot of money to build, over the long run the cost of the dams is paid off, and B.C. Hydro can sell power cheaply to British Columbians.
Since 2001, the B.C. Liberals have allowed many smaller-scale private power developments. The companies invest in building the dam, and then over the length of their water licences, can make money by selling power to B.C. Hydro. In some cases, the power companies can bypass B.C. Hydro and sell directly to other markets, where the cost of electricity is typically higher.
Critics worry that if British Columbians have to compete with other jurisdictions for their own power, the price of power will rise -- and you'll see that on your power bill.
"There is a value to the crown utility -- profits go right back into British Columbia," said Davis. "But when we have a private system, the people who are making the profit are shareholders."
Proponents of the power systems say that while the price of electricity is higher, it's necessary to recoup the investments within the term of their water licence, which is a maximum of 40 years.
They say there are plenty of regulations to prevent overcharging -- and contracts that assure the only company the plants can sell to is B.C. Hydro. However, they do admit that for some plants, there will be times where they can sell to the larger market.
"It's reasonable to assume we'll get a return on our investment, but this is no windfall," said Jim Gemmill of the Independent Power Producers Association of B.C.
But the debate on water has been muddied. A recent NDP ad claimed that water rights have been sold on 200 public waterways. A few days after the ad first aired, Carole James addressed a press conference, claiming companies had acquired the rights of just 120 public waterways.
When we looked at the public figures provided by IPPwatch.info, it turns out that the truth is somewhere in between -- there are 135 water rights that have been issued on 125 bodies of water.
Sixty-eight of those were issued when the Liberals were elected in 2001 -- of those, some 26 are still current.
At the end of the day, power companies see British Columbia as a chance to do big business. When the Liberals were elected there were 94 applications for licences like Furry Creek. Now there are 678 applications.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Jon Woodward and Mi-Jung Lee
