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Hwy Forum By Alicia Bridges Black Press
LITERACY Fun
News that Smithers will play host to a forum aimed at improving transportation along Highway 16 has been greeted with mixed reactions from advocates for the cause. The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) announced last week they were partnering to host a transportation symposium in Smithers on Nov. 24. According to a press statement from the Ministry, the discussions would be attended by representatives from 23 First Nations communities along with municipalities along on the stretch of highway be-
Robin Vander Heide/Houston Today
Jen Williams, Adult Literacy Coordinator, and Mia McGonigal, Family Literacy Coordinator, from Houston Link to Learning hosted a Family Fun Night at the Seniors’ Activity Centre last week Thursday. The Seniors’ centre was packed with families enjoying a delicious spaghetti dinner, prizes, and a chance to socialize with friends.
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Weather windfall for U.S. power exports By Tom Fletcher Black Press
A warm winter and a dry spring and summer combined to produce a big jump in BC Hydro power exports this year. Electricity exports to the U.S. jumped by 73 per cent in the first eight months of 2015 compared to the same period last year, according to export data from Statistics
Canada. BC Hydro says the warmer winter decreased residential customer demand for electricity in B.C., leaving enough water in the Columbia and Peace River reservoirs that their combined volume reached record highs by the end of March 2015. That allowed for more generation from Mica dam on the Columbia River, which recently
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“Electricity exports jumped by 73 per cent...”
had a fifth and sixth turbine added to bring it up to maximum design capacity. “These exports also supported the management of the obligations under the Columbia River
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Treaty, which provide for increased releases of water from the Canadian Columbia basin when the U.S. basin finds itself in severe drought conditions, as it did in the spring and summer of !
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2015,” said BC Hydro spokesperson Simi Heer. “Ultimately, the increased release meant additional generation at Mica, which resulted in more energy available for export.” The Columbia River Treaty was signed by Canada and the U.S. in 1964, and its flood control mandate is set to expire in 2024. Energy Minister Bill Bennett has ar-
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gued that the treaty should be renewed with an increased annual payment from the U.S., to reflect the value of controlling the river on the Canadian side for flood control and irrigation for agriculture in Washington state. The increase in electricity sales was a bright spot for B.C. exports, the value of which fell 22.2 per cent from January to
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August, due mainly to falling natural gas prices. Electricity prices also fell during that period, so the 73 per cent increase in exports resulted in only a 32.2 per cent increase in value. Decreases in gas and electricity prices are related to greatly increased shale gas production in the U.S., which is used for power production as well as heating fuel.
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