Plutonic CEO takes a run at opponents

Campbell River Mirror
Author Paul Rudan
July 15, 2008

After spending a morning talking about energy, Plutonic Power Corporation Vice-Chairman and CEO Donald McInnes is fueling up.

"This is great chowder," he says between mouthfuls of soup at the Royal Coachman Neighbourhood Pub.

McInnes has just spent the morning speaking to local business leaders at the Campbell River Chamber of Commerce breakfast, and he keeps on talking right through the lunch time.

"It was all about electricity," he says of the chamber meeting. "We haven't built any new stations of consequence (in B.C.) since 1987."

That's all about to change though as Plutonic Power has begun building its "Green Power Corridor" in Toba Inlet, due east of Campbell River on the mainland coast.

The 196-megawatt East Toba and Montrose project is expected to be running by 2010, and McInnes is hoping to build an even bigger run-of-the-river hydro-electric project just to the north in Bute Inlet.

"We already have 250 working in Toba Inlet and there would be about 600 jobs if the other IPPs (independent power proposals) are successful," he says.

B.C. needs the energy, he adds, and for Campbell River it would mean more work and jobs. He points out that two local companies, Strategic Forest Management and North Island Communications, are already working under contract with Plutonic.

However, run-of-the-river companies like Plutonic have their opponents who would like nothing better than to pull the plug on all the privately-funded hydro-electric projects across the province.

The B.C. NDP as well as COPE 378 (a union of B.C. Hydro employees) believe these projects are leading to the privatization of BC Hydro and will mean less public control while increasing electricity rates for consumers.

They also say run-of-the-river projects are not as "green" as they purport to be.

"Unfortunately, the B.C. government seems content to hide behind its green veneer and hope that no one in B.C. notices how destructive and unnecessary this type of development is," says Andy Ross, president of COPE 378.

Naturally, McInnes disagrees. He points out the East Toba-Montrose project went through rigourous environmental assessments and the generation sites are well-located in order to cause no harm to fish species.

And then there's the reality of our energy needs.

"By 2025, even if conservation is wildly successful, we still have to double our energy needs," McInnes points out.

He also predicts that hydro costs in B.C. will remain among the lowest in North America. Right now we pay the second lowest rate on the continent, next to Manitoba, at 6.6 cents per kilowatt hour while Albertans pay 12 cents and Californians pay 19 cents.

McInnes also bristles at the suggestion that Plutonic is getting rights to rivers "for free."

"We may own this project but we don't own the water rights," he says. "We also return 15 per cent in property, school and water taxes.

"I would hardly call that free. These water licences are only good for 40 years and then the government can decide whether they want to renew them or not."