May 19 2005 -- BC Citizens for Public Power - News release

Vancouver ­ BC Citizens for Public Power today called for the Auditor-General to make an inquiry into the persistent bias being shown by the BC Utilities Commission in favour of private energy companies and against BC Hydro consumers. Citizens' spokesperson Dr. Marjorie Griffin Cohen said the organization has taken the unusual step of asking Auditor-General Wayne Strelioff to conduct an inquiry because of a series of decisions by the BC Utilities Commission that go against the interests of consumers. Cohen said the decision to call for the inquiry came after BC Citizens for Public Power was the only intervener group the BCUC denied public funding for in recent electricity rate hearings, while at the same time BCUC granted organizations representing profitable power and industrial companies almost $700,000 in public funds to participate.

www.citizensforpublicpower.ca

BC Citizens applied for $11,523 in funding from the BCUC last year to cover the costs of its research on the rate increase application. BC Citizens has more than 75,000 supporters and is pursuing a class action lawsuit in BC Supreme Court against the privatization of one-third of BC Hydro.

Cohen said the BCUC also refused to order Canfor or Weyerhaeuser to return $67 million taxpayers dollars they received to build new electricity generators that the two highly profitable forest companies would have constructed anyway.

"The BC Utilities Commission is demonstrating a persistent and troubling bias against BC Hydro consumers, against BC Citizens for Public Power and in favour of private energy and other companies," Cohen said. "When huge forestry companies get a $67 million giveaway to build generators they needed anyway and when organizations representing profitable industries get hundreds of thousands of dollars to argue in favour of lower corporate Hydro rates, something is seriously wrong at the BCUC."

Cohen said the BCUC refused an appeal of its decision to deny Citizens any funding for its participation even though the final BCUC report quoted from Citizens? presentation.

"The BC government appoints the members of the BC Utilities Commission and clearly they are choosing people who are not willing to listen to the voices of ordinary British Columbians but will provide millions to corporate interests,? said Cohen. ?The BC Utilities Commission cannot be credible if it funds corporations to participate while denying Citizens a penny."

Funding granted by the BC Utilities Commission

The Joint Industry Electricity Steering Committee $261,955 The Commercial Energy Consumers $241,117 The Independent Power Producers of BC $195,129 BC Old Age Pensioners Association et al $158,987 Sierra Club of Canada BC Branch $121,574 Mr. Alan Wait $ 10,877 BC Citizens for Public Power $0

Beverly Tanchak, Projects Manager, BC Citizens for Public Power

email: projectsmanager@citizensforpublicpower.ca

Go to our website and join the class action law suit!

www.citizensforpublicpower.ca