[BCPhil]

I just have to point out the fact that for many, the cost of the hydro bill doesn't determine how much they "waste". Hydro rates can be tripled and it will still be the cheapest bill most people have. I do leave my main computer on 24/7, doing that costs a fraction of what my cell phone costs me for 100 minutes. Power conservation is a personal choice, it's an ethical choice (I might have my computer on 24/7 but my lights stay off almost all day, and I don't own an AC). To raise rates enough to force people to conserve power would probably just end up bankrupting many businesses instead of helping the cause. It's like recycling or using reusable bags, most people do it because they feel good about doing it. I can't remember the last time I bought a normal light bulb (and I haven't replaced a single CF yet either).

That said, as we head to electric cars we are going to need more electricity. The good thing about that is here we can get electricity from green sources while getting internal combustion engines off the roads. 20 years from now we might be using more electricity, but we can significantly reduce our carbon footprint. In Germany, I've even heard that the batteries in Electric cars are going to be used to put energy back into the grid when needed. So if a community is powered by a solar facility, their off peak usage at night can actually come from micro discharges from the batteries in their cars. Or if hydro isn't enough during peak hours, energy can be drained from unused cars and devices and recharged during the night.

If we build site C now to feed our current need, and in the future, because of smarter grids and conservation, it's too much, we can sell off that capacity to places where they don't have access to such great resources. I don't mind sacrificing a valley or two if in the future a bunch of coal or gas generators are taken offline because of it.