Integrated Resource Plan Appendix 7D First Nations Consultation - Interim Report 2011 Integrated Resource Plan Appendix 7D BC Hydro Integrated Resource Plan First Nations Consultation Interim Report May 25, 2011 Prepared by: BC Hydro Aboriginal Relations & Negotiations 1 of 263 August 2013 Integrated Resource Plan Appendix 7D 2 of 263 August 2013 Integrated Resource Plan Appendix 7D EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction BC Hydro is consulting with First Nations around the province on the development of the Integrated Resource Plan. The Integrated Resource Plan will set out how BC Hydro proposes to meet future growth in electricity demand over the next 20 years. This Interim Consultation Report is a factual report that outlines BC Hydro’s approach to consultation, documents the information BC Hydro has provided to First Nations on the development of the Integrated Resource Plan and summarizes the input BC Hydro has heard from First Nations to date. BC Hydro will provide this Interim Consultation Report to First Nations and also to the Province of British Columbia. This report will assist BC Hydro in developing the Integrated Resource Plan. BC Hydro has also received First Nations input on the consultation process for the Integrated Resource Plan. These concerns will also be considered in light of any legal requirement for First Nations consultation. Background British Columbia's 2010 Clean Energy Act requires BC Hydro to develop an Integrated Resource Plan for submission to the Ministry of Energy and Mines by December 2011 for government approval (18 months after the Clean Energy Act came into force). Bill 13 has recently been introduced in the legislature which would extend the time period to submit the Integrated Resource Plan to Government from 18 months to 30 months. The additional time will enable BC Hydro to consider any relevant outcomes from the BC Hydro Rate Review currently underway. The schedule of consultation set out in this report may change, pending completion of the Rate Review. The Rate Review will report to Government at the end of June 2011. BC Hydro’s Integrated Resource Plan is a province-wide 20-year plan that describes how BC Hydro plans to meet future growth in demand for electricity. Underpinning this plan is BC Hydro’s long-standing electricity planning objective i 3 of 263 August 2013 Integrated Resource Plan Appendix 7D to ensure a reliable, cost-effective electricity supply, and B.C.’s Clean Energy Act, including, among other things, requirements related to clean energy, greenhouse gas reduction and achieving electricity self-sufficiency. The Integrated Resource Plan will set out BC Hydro's plan for achieving electricity self-sufficiency, ensuring that 93 per cent of generation in the province comes from clean resources and for ensuring conservation reduces the expected growth in electricity demand by at least 66 per cent by 2020. As well, given inherently longer lead times, the plan will contain an assessment of transmission options looking 30 years out. The Integrated Resource Plan evaluates portfolios of resources, but does not determine which specific projects BC Hydro will ultimately choose to develop nor will it choose the specific projects from which to acquire electricity. Any future BC Hydro projects will be subject to their own consultation processes. In addition, BC Hydro will continue to ensure that consultation has been adequate and reasonable prior to signing energy procurement agreements with independent power producers. Consultation Process BC Hydro’s consultation on the Integrated Resource Plan involves three distinct streams; a First Nations consultation stream, a technical steam, and a public and stakeholder stream. In all three consultation streams BC Hydro is seeking input into the development of a draft Integrated Resource Plan and once a draft plan has been completed, BC Hydro will seek feedback on the draft. The input and feedback from all three consultation streams will be considered by BC Hydro in developing the Integrated Resource Plan that will be submitted to Government. BC Hydro has invited BC’s First Nations and Tribal Councils / First Nations Organizations to participate in the development of the Integrated Resource Plan through a province-wide consultation process. In addition, BC Hydro has included the BC First Nations Energy and Mining Council (BCFNEMC) in the consultation process. The BCFNEMC reports to the First Nations Leadership Council which is comprised of representatives from the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, the First Nations Summit and the BC Assembly of First Nations. ii 4 of 263 August 2013 Integrated Resource Plan Appendix 7D In the First Nations consultation stream, BC Hydro is holding two rounds of regional workshops and providing participant funding and reimbursement of travel expenses to First Nations participants in the workshops. There is also an opportunity for First Nations to provide written comments following the workshops. BC Hydro has also invited First Nations to participate in the public and stakeholder consultation stream. In addition, BC Hydro has provided capacity funding for the BCFNEMC to participate in both the regional workshops and the Technical Advisory Committee, which is part of the technical consultation stream. Consultation Activities to Date To date BC Hydro has notified First Nations and Tribal Councils in British Columbia of the consultation on the development of the Integrated Resource Plan and informed them of BC Hydro’s interest in meeting with them to understand their interests and perspectives as they relate to the development of the plan. The following components of the First Nations consultation on the Integrated Resource Plan have been implemented to date: BC Hydro invited First Nations, Tribal Councils and First Nation organizations to participate in the regional workshops and provided background reading material on the Integrated Resource Plan to First Nations in advance of the regional workshops. BC Hydro held nine First Nations regional workshops in March 2011 involving BC Hydro presentations on the Integrated Resource Plan followed by discussions facilitated by a neutral facilitator. The workshops were attended by 121 participants representing 78 First Nations, Tribal Councils and First Nations organizations. A list of First Nations, Tribal Councils and First Nations organizations that attended the regional workshops is attached (Appendix 7). In addition to the separate First Nations consultation stream, First Nations were also invited to participate in the public open houses and stakeholder meetings. iii 5 of 263 August 2013 Integrated Resource Plan Appendix 7D BC Hydro sought written comments from participants in the First Nations regional workshops by April 30, 2011. BC Hydro entered into a capacity funding agreement with the BCFNEMC that provided funds for the BCFNEMC to participate in the Technical Advisory Committee and the First Nations regional workshops and to act as a resource to First Nations communities by providing First Nations leadership with information about the development of the Integrated Resource Plan and the involvement of the BCFNEMC in BC Hydro’s consultation process on the Integrated Resource Plan. At the regional workshops BC Hydro presented the following information: A description of the Integrated Resource Plan; An overview of how an Integrated Resource Plan is developed; and Information on the following six topic areas related to the development of the Integrated Resource Plan: Conservation and Efficiency; Electrification; Electricity Generation Options, Transmission Planning, Export Market Potential; and Clean or Renewable Energy Development in First Nation Communities. Participants at the workshops were also provided with a First Nations Input Form and a copy of the public and stakeholder consultation workbook entitled Planning for a Clean Energy Future which provided more details on the development of the Integrated Resource Plan. iv 6 of 263 August 2013 Integrated Resource Plan Appendix 7D In several workshops, many participants expressed significant concern that BC Hydro was calling the process “consultation”. In light of the significant amount of input received on this issue and the importance of this topic to a substantial number of the participants, a separate topic heading for “consultation process” was created in the Interim Consultation Report to document this input. First Nation Input into the Draft Integrated Resource Plan First Nations input into the draft Integrated Resource Plan has been received by BC Hydro verbally and in writing. First Nations input from each regional workshop is summarized separately (Appendix 12). Additional written comments were provided to BC Hydro following the workshops which are set out in either a First Nation Input Form (Appendix 10) or by letter (Appendix 18). In addition, the BCFNEMC has submitted two longer reports containing their comments, one arising from their involvement in the Technical Advisory Committee (Appendix 17) and the other from their involvement in the First Nations regional workshops (Appendix 16) Input on Conservation and Efficiency There was widespread support among First Nations participants for greater conservation and efficiency. However, a concern over the cost of conservation was a recurring theme. There was a concern that First Nations, many of who are economically disadvantaged and live in homes that are not energy efficient, would be burdened with higher electricity rates and unaffordable energy