Photo courtesy Canadian Press

By Canadian Press

Site-C

Updated: C project forging ahead

Feb 26, 2021 | 12:11 PM

NORTHERN BC – The Site C hydroelectric project in northeastern B-C will take more time and a lot more money before it produces its first watt of electricity.
Premier John Horgan says completion of the project has been pushed to 2025 and the cost has ballooned to 16-billion dollars — up five billion since 2018.
The COVID-19 pandemic and unforeseeable geotechnical challenges are blamed for the increase which has pushed the total price to almost triple the 6.6-billion dollar estimate offered in 1981.

However, the news has been met with mixed reaction from the MP for Peace River-Prince George-Northern Rockies, Bob Zimmer.

“Some of the geotechnical issues are concerning to me too. Some our residents in the Old Fort are concerned about some of the same things that were mentioned. We’re moving to the electrification of the province very quickly and the question of where that power’s going to come from Site C can answer, but that doesn’t absolve BC Hydro from some of these concerns that people are having.”

He is glad, however, that the thousands of people working on the project, although many are not from his riding, will still have their jobs tomorrow.

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“It does have an impact locally and that’s, economically, a positive thing.”

However, he did note that some of the contractors working on that project have not been paid in a timely fashion.
Horgan has said his government never would have started the project, but today he says cancelling it now, when it is half complete, would drastically increase electricity costs.