Questions Fortis won't answer

Ten good questions Fortis won't answer about its proposed dam in Belize

Question 1:

Why is Fortis operating outside the law in Belize?  Fortis-owned Belize Electric Co. Ltd has never applied for a license to generate power in Belize despite a legal requirement to do so. Now it wants to build another dam and still refuses to apply for a license and operate within the law.  Why is Fortis taking these legal risks? 

Comments:  The licensing process would expose the unfair rating structure, biased bidding process and outrageously unfair contract agreements. 

Question 2:

How much will the Fortis dam cost the people of Belize to build, and why won’t Fortis make the construction contracts, the so-called ‘sweetheart deal’, public?

Comments: Belizeans are paying the cost of construction which is likely to skyrocket. They have a right to see the contract but Fortis refuses to discuss it.

Question 3:

What are Newfoundland Power’s staff and executives doing in Belize working for Belize Electric Co. Ltd?  Are they working on the Dam?  Are Newfoundland rate payers paying their salaries while they are working in Belize?  Why is the CEO of Belize Electric Co Ltd sitting on the Board of Directors of Nfld Power?

Comments: We don’t know what the deal is here but we should. 

Question 4:

What does Fortis have to hide?  Why won’t Fortis make its geology studies and engineering plans for the dam public?

Comments: World renowned experts have shown that Fortis’ original geological studies of the proposed dam site in Belize are seriously flawed and inaccurate..  If the dam is built using this incorrect geology, it could collapse and kill thousands of people.  Fortis plans to start building anyway.

Question 5:

Why won’t Fortis agree to an independent panel to examine its geological studies, engineering designs and economic claims?

Comments: Fortis claims that opponents of its dam plans lie.  If so, then Fortis should not mind subjecting its claims to an independent, mutually agreeable panel of experts.  Will it?

Question 6:

Where'd the $15 million go?

Comments: In Belize, where there is no Consumer Advocate, one Fortis company, BECOL, sold another Fortis company, BEL, $15 million US worth of assets that Fortis BEL already owned!  Why?  Will Belize consumers now pay another $15 million US for assets they have already paid for?...Yes.  This is a great trick when you can get away with it.

 

Question 7: How can Fortis executives destroy the wilderness of the upper Macal River Valley without even visiting it once?

Comments: No one who has visited the Upper Macal River Valley and seen what a unique wilderness refuge it is, could flood this place for a mere 5 megawatts of power, or enough to light up 3 or 4 hotels..  We invite the executives of Fortis to canoe the river, and see this place with us, before they destroy it forever.

 

Question 8: Why does Fortis refuse to consider other competitive sources of power generation in Belize, as for instance the sugar cane industry's bid to generate more power than the dam can produce for less money from bagasse, the waste from sugar cane processing?

Comments: Fortis has a monopoly on power distribution in Belize and wants a monopoly over generation as well...Fortis' proposed dam and gas generating facility are exempt from any competitive process in spite of the benefits that would bring to the rate payer.  Fortis wants all the profits for Fortis.

 

Question 9: Can Fortis name a single reputable scientist who says this dam would not be devastating to willdife?

Comments: No. All leading wildlife experts who have spoken on the issue oppose Fortis’ dam.  Dr. David Suzuki, the Natural History Museum of London, more than a dozen world-renown experts and all leading wildlife specialists in Belize have stated the dam will have globally significant wildlife impacts..  Fortis CEO says they’re all wrong, and he’s building anyway.

 

Question 10: Will Fortis reach beyond itself to implement a better solution for Belize's energy needs?

Comments: There are better options than damming the Macal River.  Many of the groups in Belize and elsewhere of the International Coalition to Save the Macal River Valley, stand ready to help Fortis find economical energy solutions using biomass and other options, without destroying Belize’s future.

 

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