BCUC LETTER OF COMMENT FOR THE RDA
Thank you for the opportunity to comment:
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
The Regional District has complete instructions to join their public meeting. Clear info to join and how to get the WebX app they use, the code etc.
The Nelson hydro meeting mentioned virtual meeting, time data and place and the need to register, no mention of Zoom. I received an email at 5:38pm with a code to join the meeting.
I called a friend to ask if he was joining, he knew nothing about the meeting and asked if he could use my code. I called him he works in IT and recognized it as a zoom code. I had no idea, I had to download the app. I wonder how the other 10 public participants knew how to join?
The meeting began, they gave their presentations, a chat box opened where one could type in a question, these scrolled up out of sight. One public member kept repeating his question, they seemed to pick the questions they wanted to answer. The meeting ended.
Public participation is always dismal, people don't understand power. The city annually provides their comparisons that make Nelson look good, they keep our rates under our neighbor Fortis and nobody complains. This year with the huge rural increase the public is asking for some oversight.
New Westminster has a commission, Penticton draws from the community. The COSA study referred to Kenora Ont as an example in their study, they have a board of directors. Nelson has a board of directors for the library and the city police but no oversight for Nelson hydro. The huge rural increase has the public's attention and they are asking for a board of directors, some oversight.
COLLATERAL DAMAGE
Power outages are always happening, particularly the rural north shore area. There is a cost in lost productivity, food spoilage, damaged electronics and electrical equipment. Frozen water pipes in winter, no water for those using pumps. One letter of comment shows more than 100 hours on the north shore. They installed an emergency generator, I have heard that others have these.
The commission always accepted Nelson hydro rate increases by proxy until 2017.
Is the city priority supplying reliable dependable electricty from a well maintained utility or maximizing dividends and capital reserves? The CAO and those setting rates aren't huddled around candles in winter jackets hoping their pipes don't freeze.
I subscribe to city bid I estimate well over 1000 poles were replaced this past year or so. Most paid for by Telus. Why is Telus paying for Nelson hydro pole replacements? Does Shaw cable also pay for replacing poles? I thought Nelson hydro rented pole space. Nelson hydro has around 4000 poles from my information, life expectancy about 40 years, that suggests 100 pole changes annually.
As I walk around town I still see all kinds of rotten looking stubbed poles.
Has Nelson hydro been budgetting for pole replacements and not doing it? If so where did the money go? Similarly for vegetation management.
In 2019 both north shore vegetation management RFT's were cancelled. At a public meeting I asked the hydro manager why, he said the bids were too high. I asked him if he thought they would be less next year, he didn't answer.
The CAO says they have spent $2.5M on vegetation management in the past 3 years. What were they spending in the last 5 or 10 years? Were there budgets not spent? If so, where did the money go?
A Jan 10th wind event caused severe damage on the north shore. What vegetation management occured there since 2019 when the north shore vegetation management RFT's were canceled?
THE COSA STUDY IS FLAWED
There are two distinct rural areas, north and south shore. The financials show a huge difference in costs between these. The COSA study has one rural rate increase. To be fair and equitable there should be different rates.
NELSON HYDRO SUBMARINE FIBER OPTIC CABLE TO THE NORTH SHORE
What business case was there for Nelson hydro installing a 288 strand fiber optic cable to the north shore?
There are two storys, the Nelson hydro manager submission to the commission says this is for Nelson hydro purposes, the CAO has a different story according to this letter of comment.
Two years later it remains unused.
Nelson hydro says its for VoltVar Optimization. My research shows BC Hydro has smart meters and utility side equipment for volt var optimization. They don't need fiber.
WHY IS NELSON HYDRO PAYING FULL COMMERCIAL RURAL RETAIL 12.4c/kWh
A small hydro producer is receiving full commercial rural retail from Nelson hydro for their power.
This could be purchased from Fortis for 4c/kWh.
Nelson hydro's bylaw says:
Rates paid for electricity will be subject to the approval of the Nelson Hydro General Manager and will be determined based on economic benefit to Nelson Hydro.
From what I can determine this goes back to 2001 and possibly further and nobody knew about it?
My FOI request for rate paid per kWh came back with the answer "nobody in the city or Nelson hydro knows" I repeated the FOI asking the question in a different way and received a list of payments, but still no answer to the rate paid per kWh. The payments clearly show this is run of river, maximum earnings from spring runoff when Nelson hydro is able to make full 16MW and sells power to BC Hydro for less than a penny. Are they paying 12.34c/kWh for the small hydro and selling to BCH for less than a penny?
BC Hydro, Fortis and Penticton only pay their wholesale cost of power for anyone's excess solar power.
When will Nelson hydro join them and stop paying full retail?
The Nelson hydro bylaw allows 25kW maximum solar installed. The public grant money installed golf clubhouse below has 40.3kW.
data is deceptive showing 24.8kW installed. The losing bid was for a 24kW system and they make the statement, "in order to meet the Nelson hydro 25kW bylaw maximum". I asked the hydro GM at a public meeting about this. He is no longer with Nelson hydro.
The nearby community hall system from public grant money is also deceptive suggesting 12.4kW is installed when its actually 18kW. Anyone using this data for their calculations is being fooled.
I have brought this to everyone's attention, nothing gets corrected.
Nelson hydro's community solar garden is the most disturbing example of disrespecting professional ethics, city council, ratepayers, taxpayers and the churches, co-ops and others who bought into their 25 year contracts for the power a solar panel makes. Nelson hydro submitted in two consecutive BCUC rate applications the solar garden was voluntary and fully funded by those opting in. Nothing could be further from the truth. It was represented to the BCUC as full cost recovery ORDER NUMBER G-24-16
(https://www.ordersdecisions.bcuc.com/bcuc/orders/en/item/142643/index.do)
The same engineer used the same computer program for the Nelson solar garden as he used for the Kimberley Sun Mine. By using completely different inputs and ignoring others he arrived a ta 25 year payback, a business case for solar.
Kimbereley Sunmine Financial Report below
The Nelson financial report has 5 columns nothing like the Kimberley report, same engineer, same computer program.
For Nelson No degredation is shown, solar panels make less power every year. Degredation is assumption 2 in the Kimberley report. It appears 22 times in a word search of the Kimberley report. Never appears in the Nelson report.
Inflation is 1.8% for Kimberley, 3.5% for Nelson it makes payback happen sooner. Running costs for Nelson $0, no contingency, you get the idea.
The Nelson hydro GM presented this to council.
His own bio says he installed his first solar system in 2000 and had experience with others, why did he need a consultant's report?
I complained to the APEGBC, they did nothing. I appealed, they ignored that. .
Supervisory Control and Data Acquastion--equipment that monitors all city items from water, sewer, alarms, pumps, electric grid, you name it.
I have only seen SCADA costs attributed to Nelson hydro. Is Nelson hydro funding all city departments SCADA systems?
THE CITY EXTENDED THE WATER LINE BUT DID NOT INCLUDE THE HYDRO
There were real opportunities to make clean green firm power to transition to a 100% renewable future.
There was a hydro potential on a city water line, below is copied from their website.
If they used the same calculations as used for the solar garden this had a business case. Not only that it would work for a century, at night, in snow, in winter, when it cloudy, we have the solar garden.
Another opportunity for clean green firm power, the city gravity water system. With 11 PRV(pressure reducing valves) one is already hydro ready it just needs the generation equipment installed.
Of you used the same data for value calculations this easily has a business case and would last a century, we have the solar garden that might last 25 years cradle to toxic grave.
My letter to the editor I keep trying to help the public understand the value of public money for solar when we have real opportunities like the hydro generation mentioned above.
Every local community is all signing on to becoming 100% renewable, they all use solar as one way to achieve this.
Should rural ratepayers fund these misengineered projects?
In my letter of comment regarding 2012 when rates went up 5.8% part of that to raise $3M for a District Energy system, I found an old screenshot I had taken. I offer it below.
The statement was made if the DES doesn't go ahead the $3M would be returned at $750,000 annually.
It did not go ahead. My FOI requesting where they returned the money came back with their reply "there are no records" I offer my record below. Showing entries in pink for $750,000.
Respectfully submitted
Norm yanke
Electrical Electronics engineering Technologist supv ret'd.
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