They call themselves grassroots but "astroturf" more accurately illustrates the artificial make-up of BC Citizens for Public Power. They bill themselves as a "citizens' group" when professional political activists and union bosses dominate its board of directors.

They say they want a public power monopoly but now they're coming after your money. A direct mail piece soliciting cash from BC taxpayers is making the rounds. The letter regurgitates more of the same myths and misinformation about privatization of BC Hydro.

Hysteria over privatization aside, BC Citizens for Public Power has "made in NDP" stamped all over it. The board of directors reads like a Who's Who of an NDP recruiting list. For the purpose of journalistic clarity, here are the bios of the directors that you were not supposed to see:

Marjorie Griffen Cohen: Former NDP-appointed director of BC Hydro and current director of the NDP-funded Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Jim Abram: President of the Public Service Alliance Canada and candidate for a 1996 NDP nomination in North Island.
Jerri New: President of the Office & Professional Employees International Union 378 - an affiliated member of the BC Federation of Labour.
Jim Fulton: Executive Director of the Suzuki Foundation and former NDP MP for Skeena.
Jim Sinclair: President of the BC Federation of Labour and former NDP-appointed director of BC Hydro.
John McGraw: Business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Murray Dobbin: Director of the NDP-funded Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Rudy Lawrence: President of the Council of Senior Citizens' Organization
The moral righteousness of the group's cause is diluted not only by the over-the-top partisanship of most of its directors but also by the factual distortions that are served up as proof that BC Hydro is one kilowatt away from privatization.

This group sees privatization around every corner. If BC Hydro management decided to buy their morning coffee at Starbucks instead of taking it from the staff room, BC Citizens for Public Power would likely issue a statement denouncing the "privatization."

The direct mail letter inaccurately claims that "the provincial government is privatizing one-third of all BC Hydro operations and jobs." The statement is patently false. Operations and jobs are being outsourced with no job losses.

True privatization involves a permanent and irreversible exchange of assets. The agreement penned by BC Hydro to outsource administrative functions to Accenture Business Services of British Columbia is limited to a ten-year contract. No assets are changing hands and the deal is up for renewal after a decade. This hardly constitutes privatization. It does however represent a significant saving for BC Hydro and its ratepayers.

The publicly-owned utility is expected to save $250 million, releasing pressure on potential rate hikes that from now on will be set by the BC utilities Board. The province will also cash in on corporate tax revenue as Accenture uses British Columbia as a platform to generate new business opportunities from other North American utilities. Meanwhile, all 1,600 Hydro jobs are to be retained by Accenture, a commitment that received unanimous endorsement from the OPEIU board of directors.

The Accenture agreement is about saving money, generating new taxes, creating job opportunities and growing the BC economy. The idle threat about privatization is just a decoy manufactured by a special interest group clearly motivated by a political agenda.