every drop count$

A Global BC News story called  "Every drop counts": B.C. urged to slash water usage amid potentially historic drought features a plea from Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Minister Bowinn Ma to conserve water above and beyond official restrictions. This statement is made because of the possibility of continued drought this summer.

However, the Metro Vancouver Reservoir Levels and Water Use graph shows high-average water volumes behind the dams at Capilano, Seymour and Coquitlam water sources. So, the lower mainland’s concern is not immediate.

If every drop counts when you are showering or brushing your teeth as the Minister solemnly declares, then all entities drawing down the supply should take great care not to unnecessarily expend this essential resource. All, except for BC Hydro.

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In BC the greatest demand on power occurs in the winter months, and through the summer there is excess hydroelectricity produced. Conversely, in the western United States (especially California) greatest demand happens in the summer because of air conditioning needs. Hydro profits from the sale of surplus BC electricity to the US through their subsidiary Powerex.

Selling unneeded power does help BC Hydro’s bottom line and reduces rates to domestic customers. Meeting trade quotas (and then some) also funds an incredibly lucrative bonus structure at Powerex. A Globe and Mail article sets out that there were 34 Powerex employees who received over $300K for the 2020 fiscal year. Their CEO had a salary of $358.8K along with bonuses of $540K. Two other Directors made even more than the CEO.

According to BC Hydro’s financial statements, out-of-province trade revenue for 2020 was $0.88 billion and rose to $1.97 billion in 2022, so it is safe to assume that far greater bonuses have been paid to Powerex staff since the Globe and Mail story. Milking as much unnecessary electricity out of our summer drought season allows Powerex to volume-trade at the most profitable demand point for US markets.

Do lower electricity rates justify summer water shortages?

By far the largest of the 3 Metro Vancouver reservoirs is Coquitlam Lake which is under BC Hydro jurisdiction. There is an agreement that Metro Vancouver may withdraw certain amounts of water for public use. According to the Coquitlam-Buntzen Project Water Use report only about 1/3 of Coquitlam Lake’s inflow is allotted to Metro Vancouver’s potable water distribution network.

The reason Hydro controls Coquitlam Lake flow is to keep water levels high enough for diversion through a tunnel to Buntzen Lake. That lake is small and has little watershed inflow, so summer water levels are kept high from the diverted Coquitlam water. Outflow from Buntzen Lake then goes through 2 power stations that discharge into Burrard Inlet, and also through another pipeline to a thermal plant in Vancouver, for cooling purposes.

The electricity generated from Buntzen Lake during times of low BC demand augments energy produced by other BC hydroelectric sources. The overall surplus is then sold on the North American market. Further, because it’s “carbon free” our excess fetches a high price, enriching those Powerex bonuses.

It is hard to accept the government’s dire conservation message given there is abundant local water in the Coquitlam reservoir that is not being made available to the public because it gets diverted for superfluous power generation to allow bonus profits for the Crown Corporation and it’s overpaid subsidiary. Every drop counts so long as it goes through the turbine.