The Cost of Natural Gas [was Re: The Cost of California Liberalism]

[Raymond D. Mereniuk]

Tim May <tcmay at got.net> wrote

> Size of a market is a shifting concept. British Columbia and 
> Vancouver are certainly large markets.

Compared to California markets this is a small market.  Two million 
folks in the metro area and 3 million total in the province (state).  
 
> If there were a nuclear power plant in western Canada, much of its 
> output would likely go to Vancouver. Guess what? No nuke plants in 
> western Canada.

The size of the market makes nuclear power impractical.  BC is a 
net exporter of energy.  Lots of electricity, some oil and some 
natural gas.  They have dammed a bunch of waterways.

> >tanker.  I believe I would rather have nuclear power plant in my
> >neighbourhood than a liquidified natural gas facility.
> 
> Perhaps you can lobby your politicians to allow nuclear power 
> plants to be built in your region, then.

Everyone gets excited about the dangers of nuclear power plants.  
In areas where sour natural gas is produced there is a lot of 
environmental damage.  The original reason for settling Canada 
was to trap animals, skin them and sell the furs to Europe.  Fur 
trappers didn't care if you dammed the rivers and poisoned the air 
and ground with hydrogen sulphate.

If you work around sour gas you are advised that if your co-worker 
suddenly collapses you don't attempt to help him as he is probably 
already dead.  You are advised to run upwind as fast as possible.  
They find cattle raised near sour gas wells and production facilities 
suffer from a significant increase in birth defects and still borns.  
There is some evidence appearing that man suffers the same 
problems as the animals.

> >tanker.  I believe I would rather have nuclear power plant in my
> >neighbourhood than a liquidified natural gas facility.
> 
> Perhaps you can lobby your politicians to allow nuclear power plants 
> to be built in your region, then.

I have lived and worked around gas plants and sour gas production 
facilities.  I have done my hazardous duty.  Again, until you witness 
the environmental damage associated with the energy business 
you have no idea...
 
> This whole post shows a shaky understanding of economics. You are 
> bitching and moaning that someone else's bids on power exceed what 
> you would like to pay.

This is my second go around on the energy boom cycle.  The only 
reason you are paying more is because of bad planning or 
producers not being allowed to build capacity when they wanted.  
There is no shortage, just some distribution problems.
 
> "I would like to have a Ferrari Testarossa, but there are so many 
> people around the world willing to pay such outrageous prices that 
> the prices have simply gotten out of control. If Californian would 
> take responsibility for their outrageous lifestyles, there would not 
> be so many Californians buying Ferraris and we people in British 
> Columbia would have a chance to afford them."

Being that BC and Alberta are big energy exporters there are lots 
of folks, and organizations, making big money on the current 
problems.  I don't believe "around the world" is factual.  There is lots 
of natural gas in the distribution system which is not connected to 
California.
 
> As for your own energy needs, install propane. This is what I have. 
> And fill the tank well in advance of when spot market fluctuations 
> drive the price up.

Problem with propane is that it stinks so bad and it puts out a lot of 
moisture when burnt.  Propane is a commodity and it has seen 
some wild fluctuation in recent years.  
 
> Or move to a warmer clime. Living in the far north _does_ carry a price.

I lived in the tropics for 8 years.  I prefer the temperate rain forest 
where I currently reside.  I like cool and rainy.  One of my complaints 
about Vancouver is that it doesn't rain enough, too many nice sunny 
days.  The problem with hot places is you can only take off so much 
clothing and you will still be hot.  In cold climates you can put on 
more clothes and eat red meat to keep warm.
 
> Also, bear in mind that a lot of off-peak power is shipped into 
> Canada from the Bonneville Power Administration. It seems we Yanks 
> had the foresight to dam the Columbia River back in the 1930s. It's a 
> reason the Hanford Nuclear Reservation was located in the Tri-Cities 
> area--cheap and plentiful power--and it's a reason several aluminum 
> smelters, including a Canadian one, located there.

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) paid for a series of 
dams whose main purpose was to hold water for their power 
generation system.  This series of dams were completed in the late 
60s and they paid a set fee for the first 30 years of water rights or 
downstream benefits.  After 30 years the downstream benefits 
were to be returned to BC or BPA had the option to purchase those 
benefits.  The downstream benefits were to be returned to BC as 
power.

Initially BPA promised $250 million for some set term and BC 
agreed to take the money.  At the last minute BPA decided the 
benefits were not worth the offered price and advised BC to accept 
less or take the power.  BC took the power.  BPA made this 
decision when it appeared electricity was a commodity with an ever 
decreasing price.  Good management team, I bet they got a bonus 
for this deal.

On a more serious note these dams have created significant 
environmental impact.  They turned hundreds of miles of river into 
lakes part of the year and made a big mess.  No one is 
complaining now that we receive the full whack of downstream 
benefits.  Actually there was not many complaints in 30 years.
 
> And a bunch of chip companies.

> Administration, I wouldn't be surprised at all if more net power 
> doesn't flow across _into_ B.C. than out of it.

There are no chip companies manufacturing here.  They have 
design centers in Vancouver as there are enough skilled workers to 
make the effort worth the expense.  Your hunch was wrong, BC and 
Alberta are big energy exporters even though Alberta is 
experiencing some shortfall in electrical generating capacity.  






Virtually


Raymond D. Mereniuk
Raymond at fbn.bc.ca
"The Ultimate Enterprise Security Experts" 
http://www.fbn.bc.ca/sysecurt.html