VANCOUVER: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) submitted its recommendations to the four Green Energy Advisory Task Forces today, calling for the rejection of green corporate welfare and a renewal of the past commitment to competitive electricity rates.
"The task forces are stacked with environmental groups and renewable energy company promoters with no one representing consumers or business groups," said Maureen Bader, B.C. director of the CTF. "Combined with the short time frame for submissions, it seems obvious that the conclusions of the task force are pre-determined."
The task force is supposed to be making recommendations to improve BC Hydro's regulatory regime, enhance job creation, and expand 'green' power projects while keeping electricity rates competitive. However, many small, private hydro projects started operation in the 1990s and now, B.C. has about 48 operating run-of-river hydro projects supplying electricity to BC Hydro and the price of energy has remained competitive. Additionally, a Spanish study shows that for every four jobs created in the subsidized 'green' energy sector, nine jobs are lost in the productive, unsubsidized sectors of the economy. Spain, the country held up by US President Obama as an example of 'green' job creation now has an unemployment rate of 19.3 per cent, the highest level in the EU.
"The jump onto the green bandwagon is undermining the reason for bringing the private sector into the electricity market in the first place -- to keep prices competitive and shift some of the risk for new projects from the taxpayer to the private sector," continued Bader. "Creating a welfare-dependent industry in the province may benefit the backers of these projects, but it won't create permanent jobs. The potential cost to taxpayers is huge and the long-term outlook for the industry is grim."
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