B.C. asks utilities commission to review $8.8-billion Site C dam megaproject
VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s New Democrat government has requested an independent review of the $8.8-billion Site C dam, threatening thousands of construction jobs on what was a signature megaproject for former premier Christy Clark.
The government has asked the B.C. Utilities Commission to determine the economic viability of the massive hydroelectric dam on the Peace River. The review will begin Aug. 9, with interim findings six weeks later and a final report by Nov. 1.
The NDP campaigned on having the project reviewed by the commission, a practice that was once standard in B.C., before the previous Liberal government’s clean-energy laws allowed some projects to bypass the regulatory agency.
“The previous government refused to allow our independent energy watchdog to examine the project to determine if it was in the public interest,” Energy Minister Michelle Mungall said Wednesday.