casinos and gas plants in Ontario
I heard on CBC radio that the province of Ontario, via the Lottery and Gaming Corporation, had invested in a gas plant which was designed/built and operated by the private sector, which has become a huge waste of money and hasn't produced energy.
At first this was reported with the spin that 'government shouldn't get into the business of power generation'.
The real failure was in the province of Ontario's decision to turn power generation into a business, and not to keep power generation completely public.
When power generation is completely public, operated by public sector unionized staff, with all the infrastructure parameters owned and run by the public sector (not contracted out as in e-health), then the private contractors can't make off with profit margins, consulting fees, and self-determined costs. There is more accountability and transparency with publicly-owned and operated utilities.
Yesterday I also heard that BC Hydro is hiring a new CEO, and the CEO's job is to purchase power generated by private companies- wind, sun, geothermal, etc.
Why isn't BC Hydro and the province spending directly on production and clean energy generation using public staff? It's intentionally setting up middlemen to take not only chunks of profit which could be better used to expand the public service, but it's also allowing those private companies to own energy.
In the context of current investment deals like NAFTA, if that energy is sold to California or elsewhere, then BC is obligated to keep sending it south even if there are shortages here.
The BC taxpayer is obligated to subsidize US energy users, pay for the grid, and re-purchase their own natural heritage.
Provinces need to keep their power generation public, for cost savings and to conserve energy. Cost savings can be used to reinvest in public Research and Development for improvements to public alternative energy so that we can move away from fossil fuels.
Letting private companies siphon off critical dollars and energy into the pit of their own dubious spending is the last thing this country needs.
Right on, thanks. You'd think the Enron fiasco of energy traders would have remainded a good reminder for at least a few more years, eh? But there is this "need" to find investments in utilities for all of those pensions funds - the kind that keep on making a buck, because we can't turn off the lights/water.