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VICTORIA — B.C. Hydro says it won’t sign any new agreements for independent power projects until it gets the results of a review into its operations by the new NDP government.

The Crown power corporation announced five small-scale First Nations clean energy projects Wednesday and said it would not finalize any more deals with private energy providers until it receives government direction.

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“B.C. Hydro supports the government’s decision to take a closer look at energy procurement to ensure it provides the best value for its customers through their review of B.C. Hydro this year,” Hydro said in a statement.

“As a result, there are no plans at this time to issue any additional electricity purchase agreements until the review is complete.”

Independent power production has been a contentious issue within Hydro for years. In opposition, the NDP frequently complained Hydro had been forced by government to enter into deals in which it was contractually obligated to buy unnecessarily expensive privately generated power that it did not need. Private power proponents say they provide smaller, less intrusive, clean sources of energy that benefit Hydro outside of its large-scale hydroelectric dams and other power-generating sources.