Williams Lake city council said they will continue to do what they can to push the province to find a way to save Atlantic Power's Williams Lake biomass plant.
The council discussed their options at length during the Feb. 4, 2025 regular meeting at city hall and by Thursday, Feb. 6, Beth Veenkamp, Manager of Economic Development for the city, said the city was ready to step it up.
She said the city is putting together a delegation of stakeholders, including the mayor, First Nations leaders, business leaders and union representatives in order to meet with provincial leaders once the legislature is back in session on Feb. 19, 2025 if a plan is not in place before then.
“We only have weeks to find a path forward for Atlantic Power Corporation to reach an agreement with the province and B.C.
Hydro to continue operations,” Mayor Surinderpal Rathor said in a press release.
“This is a very important independent power producer in our community that contributes to the overall functionality of the electric supply grid in our province,” said Rathor, noting the importance of the power plant to the overall grid.
Council has cancelled their committee of the whole meeting for Feb. 11 and have indicated to Premier David Eby and the ministers involved the city could meet with them then to come up with a concrete plan.
“We appreciate that the provincial government is under tremendous pressure right now with the threat of tariffs from the U.S.,” Rathor said. “It makes sense to save a fully operational source of renewable energy within our jurisdiction rather than relying on purchasing power from Washington State during peak demand times."
BC Hydro imported 13,600 gigawatts of electricity at a cost of nearly $1.4 billion in 2024, according to their reports.
Veenkamp said Atlantic Power has made it very clear if the Williams Lake plant closes, the company will strip the site for parts to reduce the property value and therefore their property tax bill.
"We're coming there because nobody is paying attention to us in rural B.C.," she said, calling the closure of a biomass energy plant in the province while facing a possible trade war and the economic fallout "unbelievable."
The 66 MW energy plant, which burns wood waste to produce electricity, is nearing the end of its current fibre supply.
In early 2024, the power plant gave a 12-month notice to terminate their contract with BC Hydro, saying the plant was not economically feasible to operate under the current contract. Since the plant was built, mills have been optimized to produce less wood waste, other sources of fibre are further and further away, increasing shipping costs, and there is competition for fibre with a pellet plant owned by Drax out of the United Kingdom, in Williams Lake, also utilizing wood fibre waste.
While the city has continued to push for the province to intervene to find a solution, so far there has been no agreement. The Williams Lake power plant was operating under a 10-year contract with BC Hydro which had started in October 2019.
While the province has reportedly provided some supports to help address the issue, these have not moved Atlantic Power to revoke their notice. BC Hydro is a Crown corporation, and therefore operates independently from the B.C. government. Hydro has been unwilling to renegotiate the contract with Atlantic Power. Opening the one contract to renegotiate rates would then mean BC Hydro could need to reopen other contracts with other independent power producers.
Atlantic Power is continuing to work with the provincial government in the hopes of finding a solution, said Sean Gillespie, senior vice president of operations, in a statement highlighting the jobs, environmental and economic benefits to the community.
"Unfortunately, despite 13 months of effort, no viable solutions have yet been identified or implemented to achieve this goal," said Gillespie.
"We remain committed to pursuing a successful outcome, but time is running out," he said, noting they remain hopeful they can find a solution.
The stalemate continues to frustrate city politicians, who fear the loss of the city's largest single taxpayer. Atlantic Power will be paying the city an estimated $1.8 million in taxes and utilities this year, and as the city's largest single taxpayer, the loss is a large threat to the city's budget.
The Tribune has reached out to BC Hydro for comment on the situation and did not immediately hear back. Should more information be provided, the story will be updated.
The story has been updated to include the city's plans for a delegation and a comment from Atlantic Power.
