It may not seem like it happens very often, but we must give credit to the provincial government and B.C. Energy Minister Blair Lekstrom for the decision to have B.C. Hydro cover the cost of damages caused by a power surge on June 30.

After a meeting last Wednesday with regional director Ian Morrison, Mayor Ross Forrest and former director Joe Allan, in which the case was presented on behalf of more than 150 residents and business people, Lekstrom clearly saw the wisdom of their arguments.

From there, it was off to a meeting with BC Hydro people a couple of days later, where Morrison and company got the good news.

Morrison also deserves a lot of credit for taking the bull by the horns and, after organizing several meetings with the claimants, set up the meeting with Lekstrom at the annual Union of BC Municipalities convention in Vancouver.

There’s something to be said for face-to-face meetings.

Without Morrison’s efforts, the claimants may not have stuck together as long as they did.

Yes, there was talk of a possible class action law suit, but in the end that was simply a back-up plan that would have been used if no other solution could be found.

Instead, with the strong recommendation from Allan, the group agreed that going through the proper channels first would be the way to go initially.

It worked like a charm — it was even mentioned by the minister’s staff how much that was appreciated.

This decision will mean that BC Hydro, which had been following an outdated policy in this case, now has a precedent to follow when it comes to the potential liability of a contractor.

Up to now BC Hydro had simply been dealing with so-called acts of God, such as trees blowing down on power lines. In the past, BC Hydro’s own staff would do things like clear brush. Now that sort of work is being contracted out and this power surge was the first instance of potential contractor liability.

Perhaps it will be known as the Cowichan Lake clause in BC Hydro’s rules and regulations.