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VICTORIA — B.C. Hydro is not giving up on Site C without a fight, judging from the almost 900-page defence it submitted this week to the NDP-government ordered review of the controversial project.

“The best option for ratepayers is to complete Site C as currently planned,” Hydro wrote at the outset of a submission to the B.C. Utilities Commission where it declared the project to be on time, on budget, much needed and cheaper than the alternatives.

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“Site C is expected to come into service in 2024,” continued the submission, posted on the commission website Thursday. “The expected total cost of the project is $8.335 billion and we do not expect to use the additional $440-million project reserve established and held by the B.C. government.”

This despite setbacks large and small, including the bankruptcy of one partner to the main construction contract, two tension cracks in the left bank of the river, and the government decision to postpone relocation of a highway that will be flooded once the reservoir fills.