Organizational Overview
Columbia Power Corporation (Columbia Power) is a Crown corporation wholly owned and controlled by the Province of British Columbia, existing under the Business Corporations Act and reporting to the Minister of Finance.
The company is located in Castlegar, in the heart of the Columbia River system, in the mountains and valleys that characterize the Columbia Basin — where hydroelectric generation has existed since the late 1800s. The company owns and operates hydro power projects in the Basin.
Mandate
Columbia Power’s mandate letter, as endorsed by the Province and by Columbia Power’s Board of Directors, is to:
- Continue to ensure long-term profitability, reliability, safety and environmental sustainability of the facilities in which Columbia Power has an ownership share through effective and efficient management of plant operations and maintenance.
Vision
Columbia Power’s vision is to be:
- A respected, continually improving company that maximizes shareholder value by operating power projects in a socially and environmentally responsible manner, while achieving the development objectives of the Province and the Columbia Basin.
Values
Our thinking and actions guide how Columbia Power works with its staff and external stakeholders.
The company is driven by our values of:
- Integrity
- Respect
- Versatility
- Teamwork
- Sense of community
- Promotion of work/life balance
- Sustainability
Columbia Power + Columbia Basin Trust
Pursuant to the Columbia Basin Accord (1995), the original mandate of Columbia Power was to undertake power project investments as the agent of the Province in partnership with Columbia Basin Trust (the Trust). Columbia Power and the Trust together received $500 million to develop, as joint venture partners, three core power projects in the Columbia River Basin: Arrow Lakes Generating Station, Brilliant Expansion Generating Station and the Waneta Generating Station. Columbia Power and Columbia Basin Trust also own the Brilliant Dam and Generating Station.
Columbia Power’s role is to operate the four generating facilities on behalf of the partnership. Income from these projects is distributed equally to the Trust and Columbia Power. The Trust uses its income to support efforts by residents of the region to create social, economic and environmental well-being in the Basin. Columbia Power uses the income to pay dividends to our shareholder, the Province of BC. Columbia Power also uses the income to sponsor community groups and events, offer bursaries and scholarships to secondary schools and community colleges and develop and deliver environmental stewardship programs. As partners in these facilities Columbia Power and the Trust enjoy a close working relationship.