cross-posted
New subsidies for families and the elimination of interest on student loans were the big announcements in what was primarily a status-quo budget delivered by the B.C. government on Tuesday.
Finance Minister Carole James announced the elimination of operating debt for the first time in 40 years, an estimated surplus of $274 million for 2019/2020, and a forecasted surplus of $374 million for the current fiscal year.
"British Columbia is thriving," said James.
BC also increasing carbon tax on April 1 and redirecting over $100 million to electric and plug in hybrid and hydrogen cell cars.
POOR STUPID HOID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He demonstrates that LIE-berals have LEARNED NOTHING about how and why all their policies are FAILING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Consider this mess that is merely a repeat of one of the Wynne-bag LIE-beral screwups!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here is an article illustrating that LIE-beral sponsored electric toy cars are simply not ready for mass usage! And proving that LIE-berals never learn from their mistakes! With some comments of my own in brackets):
B.C.’s rollout of charging stations for electric cars has cost about $2.5 million more than projected
By Michael Mui, Star Metro Vancouver
Published Fri., Nov. 16, 2018
VANCOUVER—A nearly $9 million effort by British Columbia’s publicly owned power company to install “fast chargers” for electric vehicles around the province has been plagued with problems, including chargers breaking well before their expected lifespan.
(In other words, the B.C. experience MIRRORS the LIE-beral Ontari-owe experience with not so fast chargers!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
BC Hydro began installing fast chargers for electric cars in 2013, intending to cover major routes throughout the entire province, but shortly after its efforts began, numerous units from three different charging-station manufacturers had to be replaced, due to a host of technical problems, despite their expected 10-year lifespan.
(One wonders WHO PAID for the replacement units? Was it tax payers who were already on the hook for vast LIE-beral subsidies offered to a privileged few electric Toy Car owners??????)
The company’s documents reveal it has already spent $8.9 million in capital costs, primarily funded by senior government grants. That amount is about $2.5 million more than BC Hydro expected to spend, according to the utility’s internal documents.
(In other words, with all the govt grants, taxpayers ARE ON THE HOOK for this costly and unreliable LIE-beral garbage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
BC Hydro electric transportation strategist Alec Tsang wouldn’t confirm precisely how many chargers have been replaced, but he confirmed that the fast charger project has experienced “teething pains.”
(Uh huh- just like Ontari-owe- where regular users of fast chargers ROUTINELY BYPASS govt supplied chargers and seek out privately owned ones that happen to be MUCH MORE RELIABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!)
The devices, called direct current fast chargers, are currently the fastest electric-charging technology available for passenger cars; in minutes, they can fully charge batteries that would otherwise need to be plugged into a household outlet for hours. As such, they allow electric-vehicle drivers to “refuel” as quickly as those driving petrol vehicles.
(Oh dear- LIE-berals DO ENJOY that Fake News! It does not take half an hour to refuel a gas car- as it often does with an electric TOY! And of course the half hour does not include TRAVEL TIME searching for a fast charger that isnt BROKEN!)
(Too bad the Ontari-owe versions often either do not function at all or else deliver a much SLOWER charging rate than advertised! With additional issues with the software supposed to be able to read and bill credit cards- just like their B.C. counterparts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
And, despite the setbacks, the provincial government is convinced a network of 200 fast chargers to provide what it calls adequate coverage, according to documents from the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, the branch responsible for electric vehicle infrastructure.
‘Like going to a gas station and it’s closed, and it’s the only one for 100 miles’
(Yes- not only do electric Toy cars suffer from very limited range along with slow refueling rates, they also require a COSTLY NEW network of charging centres- that electric Toy supporting LIE-berals expect US to pay for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
The province’s electricity providers expect that the fast charging stations will ultimately yield tens of millions in new revenue, but in the meantime, reliability issues have frustrated drivers.
(Oh yes- all that new GRAVY! That is what LIE-berals are REALLY AFTER!!!!)
Jim Hindson, an electric car owner on Vancouver Island, said charging machines installed by BC Hydro are often out of commission for months at a time. Often, in inquiring about the issue, he would be told the company is waiting for parts necessary to repair the machines.
“If you drive up you expect it to work. It’s like going to a gas station and it’s closed, and it’s the only one for 100 miles,” Hindson said. “I experienced it firsthand several times … the new Qualicum Beach one, brand new this year, was down for two weeks.”
The City of Vancouver, one of BC Hydro’s initial partners on fast chargers, had to take over one of BC Hydro’s locations after encountering reliability issues. Ian Neville, the city’s climate policy analyst, said the first fast charger the city received from Hydro three years ago wouldn’t even turn on. That model was replaced, but eventually the city purchased its own charging units from a different manufacturer. BC Hydro continues to have an agreement to operate chargers at other locations in the city.
(Isnt that a nice picture- a driver of a brand new electric TOY car roaming the city- looking for useable chargers!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Similar issues have plagued other cities. North Vancouver’s charging station is among the most frequently used in BC Hydro’s existing network, with an average of 11 charging sessions per day. But Caroline Jackson, manager of environmental sustainability for the municipality, said there have already been three different equipment installations on the same site due to technical problems.
(Bad enough the chargers are so costly and unreliable. And we get to pay for a Hog to manage “sustainablity”- meaning Hog MAKE WORK!!! Why don’t LIE-berals tell us what the REAL TOTAL COST of disposing of a Lithium car battery is???)
Tsang, BC Hydro’s electric transportation strategist, said 15 of the chargers initially ordered by the company needed to be replaced because they had charging plugs that were only compatible with Japanese-manufactured vehicles.
(And NOBODY NOTICED the plug issue before the purchase? Did our Hogs even know what they were buying????????)
Another model was discontinued and was no longer supported by the manufacturer, so Hydro had to remove that one from its inventory, too, Tsang said, while another suffered compatibility issues with BC Hydro’s electrical network. To date, BC Hydro has tested chargers from at least five different manufacturers.
(Five different manufacturers? One has to wonder how long any of these apparently fly by night fast buck artists have been in business???? The company chosen by Ontari-owe LIE-berals to instal $20 million dollars worth of fast charges has as its president a guy with a long business history as a HOUSE SALESMAN-but NO previous history installing chargers!)
(This cynical tax payer will suggest that what electric chargers produce most of is fast bucks for Hogs and tax payer complaints!!!!!!!!!!!)
Lin Khoo, senior vice-president of strategy for electric-charger software provider Greenlots, said the entire industry has struggled with charger reliability for years. Greenlots provides customer interface software in addition to analytics and power-control capabilities for fast chargers. Khoo said BC Hydro was one of Greenlots’ first customers when the B.C. utility deployed its first fast chargers in 2013.
“You’re dealing with a user base that’s not familiar with the technology. There’s bound to be issues. What matters is how quickly and how responsive you can address those issues.”
(A user base not familiar with the technology? So the spin doctor is apparently suggesting that the CUSTOMERS are to blame for shoddy gear?????????
BC Hydro is projecting millions in future revenues
(Yes- electric toys operate on a WONDERFUL business model! Tax payer money is used to get the infrastructure installed and then civil service union Hogs get to price gouge the public for their costly and unreliable service!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Currently, many of BC Hydro’s stations are charging 35 cents per kilowatt hour, roughly equivalent to between 60 and 70 cents per litre of gasoline.
(Isnt that nice!!!!!!! Electricity generated by water power costs a home owner about 5 cents per kilowat hour! Yes- there WILL be lots of new gravy if only LIE-berals can FORCE US to support their electric Toys!!!!!!!!)
FortisBC, a utility primarily serving the province’s southeast, operates five fast chargers and sells its electricity at $18 per hour of charging time. FortisBC said it intends to fund a 30 fast chargers in its service areas and that it has already issued requests for the next 12. FortisBC director of business innovation and measurement Mark Warren said expansion areas being examined include Kelowna, Beaverdell, Rossland and Nelson.
Meanwhile, the B.C. government itself intends to install eight of its own fast chargers at highway rest areas this fall — five of those stations are now operational and are being offered for free.
(OH! FREE electricity for those users of electric toys on the highway! I have been critical in the past about the way in which LIE-berals offer up subsidies to their friends and political allies! It might amuse cynical tax payers to see what line of work those who take advantage of the free highway chargers are in! Who wants to bet most are in govt or allied industries that derive most of their income from govt contracts?????)
Both Hydro and Fortis, however, believe the rates they are charging are too low to recover the substantial cost of building the stations. Of the $8.9 million spent by BC Hydro on DC fast chargers, $6.6 million were paid for by government grants and private contributions, while FortisBC had more than half of its $492,000 cost for its five existing stations paid by community groups.
(NO cost recovery from current rates? Some clever person observed that “a LIE-beral is a person who will give away all that he does not own”! LIE-berals DO ENJOY subsidizing PALS in exchange for VOTES!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Both BC Hydro and FortisBC believe capital costs for the chargers will have to continue to be subsidized, even at the expense of general electricity ratepayers, to keep costs down for electric vehicle owners. Without subsidies from grants or general ratepayers, FortisBC calculations show it would cost the average car owner $42 for every hour of fast charging. This means that, without subsidies, the average electric car owner who needs 30 minutes to one hour to fully charge their vehicle may have little financial incentive to go electric instead of gasoline.
(So- it’s a LIE-beral SCAM just like the carbon crap and trade tax mess! And how is it that LIE-berals can compare the 30- 60 minutes for recharging an electric Toy to the 5 minutes for gassing up a car!!!!!!!!)
A potential windfall could take decades, but revenue is expected to grow significantly. Figures from Hydro show its fast chargers were used 53 per cent more year-over-year in 2017. By fiscal 2028, BC Hydro estimates, its combined electric vehicle charging revenues would rise to $62 million per year, and to continue to grow by more than $10 million per year thereafter.
(Oh yes- a “potential windfall” is LIE-beral speak for GOUGING TAX PAYERS!!!!!!!!!!! And how strongly where the people preparing the estimates influenced to make the MOST ROSY of predictions? The full truth really does not seem to fit the LIE-beral Fake News Narrative now does it??????????)
