The Power Smart BC Village of BC Hydro
For years, I have felt snubbed by BC Hydro. You may actually not know this little bit of personal information but, once upon a time, I was on the job market, as a newly minted PhD. And I really wanted to work for British Columbia’s power producer. Actually, I wanted SO bad to work for BC Hydro that even before I graduated, I spent endless hours to submit resumes for various positions at BC Hydro. I think, overall, I might have submitted more than 20 (twenty, yes, you read right). Many, many of my close friends have, at some point, either worked there or remain there. I have an MBA, a chemical engineering degree, a PhD in environmental studies, and yet BC Hydro has never hired me. You would think that with my background, my expertise and my research on water and environmental policy, as well as my business and engineering skills, I would be a logical hire. But no, never. Not even an acknowledgement.
Now that I have got that out of the way and out of my chest, and since I am no longer in the job market (at least, not for a full time job, since I do consulting on my own, plus my teaching and research), I feel that I should also highlight the things that BC Hydro is doing right. I have recently written about the Power the Games Facebook app. And there’s one big one, in my opinion: The Power Smart Village.
I had previously walked by the Power Smart Village but today I actually made the time to walk around and see more of it. I was already on a walk with my good friend Gus and we ended up touring the BC Hydro’s Kilowatt Cafe, and the exhibits that BC Hydro put together for kids. One of the things that really impressed me was the really positive energy that EVERYONE involved with the Power Smart Village radiates. Every. Single. One. There’s not a single frown. Not a single scowl. Everyone is friendly, all staff members (mascots, demonstrators, people dancing on the Club Energy (the Sustainable Dance Floor), are extremely helpful and sweet.
I did get to dance at the Club Energy, although quite frankly, I don’t think I generated that much energy. The DJ had ‘Respect’ by Aretha Franklin and Footloose, but I wasn’t particularly excited by the songs they were playing other than those. Not that the music isn’t great, it’s absolutely fantastic. But the truth is, BC Hydro has done it right with the Power Smart Village. The activities for kids, the staff that deals with the children, everything.
I am also incredibly proud of the way in which BC Hydro highlights their Paralympics athletes. For all the hype and attention and media coverage able-bodied athletes get, the Paralympics don’t get nearly as much, so I am very happy to see that BC Hydro has created huge displays to show their pride. Kudos to BC Hydro, another thing done right.
I would very strongly recommend to the public to come visit the Power Smart Village, located on Dunsmuir and Homer (in the main BC Hydro building). You can follow Power Smart BC on Twitter.
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It was fun and throughly enjoyable. I’m sad we didn’t get to see the Olympic Mascots compete in the Mascot Dance-off, but was happy to see the other BC Mascots around.