New Democrats are calling on Energy Minister Rich Coleman to take his hands off B.C. Hydro and end his quest for the heads of up to 1000 B.C. Hydro employees.

"Political meddling got us into this mess, yet Minister Rich Coleman appears more interested in being the Hydro CEO than allowing the B.C. Utilities Commission to properly regulate our public electric utility," said John Horgan, New Democrat energy critic.
"First, Mr. Coleman appointed a hand-picked panel of government bureaucrats to do the job the Liberals won't allow the truly independent B.C. Utilities Commission to do. Now he plans to scapegoat a thousand employees for the skyrocketing electricity rates his government caused. He seems intent on ensuring that as many people as possible lose their jobs," said Horgan.

The government panel report released last Thursday found that, among many more serious problems at B.C. Hydro brought about by Liberal energy policy, the Crown corporation may be overstaffed by up to 1,000 people. B.C. Hydro currently employs about 6,000.

Despite the insistence of B.C. Hydro CEO Dave Cobb that savings can be found with far fewer layoffs, leading to a contingent of 5,600 employees, Coleman told the Globe and Mail, “I think the report was pretty clear that it should be 4,800 people – I think we have to work to that.”

"The staffing level at B.C. Hydro is a red herring to distract British Columbians from the fact that botched Liberal policies are to blame for hydro rates climbing out of control," said Horgan.

"The minister needs to quit his meddling at B.C. Hydro to get the politically expedient outcome he desires and let the BCUC get back to doing the oversight they were created to provide. It's time for Mr. Coleman to deal with the mess his government’s policies have created. We see ballooning hydro rates due to wrong-headed Liberal policies like inflexible electricity self-sufficiency requirements, a billion-dollar smart meter program, and bloated contracts with Independent Power Producers.

"If you want to get to the real problems at B.C. Hydro, you have to ask yourself why $45 billion in contractual obligations to IPPs aren't on the chopping block instead of family-supporting jobs," said Horgan. "The panel's report should be the beginning of the debate, not the end of it. The public has to have an understanding of where we're heading with our electricity policy; this report did not get us there."