BC Hydro regulator to issue decision on rates for BC’s poor
The BC Utilities Commission, which regulates the province’s electricity rates, has announced it will issue its decision in BC Hydro’s rate review process on Friday, January 20, 2017
LNG plants get special deal on Hydro, not the people who need it
The BC Government is more than willing to offer a reduced electricity rate to the LNG industry but resist giving a break to the most vulnerable members of our communities.
Anti-poverty advocates call for BC Hydro to implement an electricity affordability program for BC’s poor
The BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre (BCPIAC) is intervening on behalf of seven organizations in this rare opportunity to ask the BCUC to order BC Hydro to implement programs for low income residential ratepayers including a discounted rate for electricity, low income customer rules, and a crisis intervention fund.
Poverty advocates criticize Hydro for number of service disconnections
The Together Against Poverty Society is outraged by the sharp growth in number of households being disconnected by B-C Hydro for non payment of bills.
BC Hydro Disconnections Spiked Significantly after Smart Meters Installed
In the years following the introduction of smart meters, BC Hydro disconnected about six times as many customers for not paying their electricity bills as it had previously in British Columbia.
BC Lags in Making Hydro Affordable for Poor: Expert
Adopting measures to make BC Hydro bills more affordable for people with low incomes would make good business sense for the utility, according to testimony to the British Columbia Utilities Commission from a prominent expert on North American utility pricing.
Power Bills Rising, ‘My Clients Are Panicking’
Advocates who work closely with people surviving on low incomes have testified to the British Columbia Utilities Commission that it is increasingly common for their clients to struggle to pay the rising cost of electricity, often with severe consequences.
Lens on Poverty in BC: Pay Hydro or Go Hungry
People living on low incomes cut back on buying food and other essentials so they can pay their electricity bills, according to testimony submitted to the British Columbia Utilities Commission as part of an ongoing hearing on BC Hydro rates.
As Hydro Rates Climb, an Idea to Reduce Bills for Low-income Folks
With electricity rates continuing to spiral upwards, an advocacy organization is pushing to have BC Hydro adopt measures to make bills more affordable for people surviving on low incomes.
Increasing BC Hydro rates drive request for an electricity affordability program for BC’s poor
BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre (BCPIAC) will ask the Commission to implement rate relief, emergency bill assistance, and specific terms and conditions for low income BC Hydro ratepayers.
BC Utilities Commission orders reduction of BC Hydro’s Minimum Reconnection Charge
The BC Utilities Commission has just ordered that BC Hydro’s Minimum Reconnection Charge (MRC) of $125.00 plus GST be reduced to $30 on an interim basis, starting on December 1, 2015. BC Hydro had requested that the lower MRC be implemented by April 1, 2016, but we successfully argued that the MRC is unjust and unreasonable as it no longer reflects BC Hydro’s actual costs to reconnect a customer.
New Ontario program helps low income ontarians with electricity bills
Ontario Energy Board Ontario Energy Board released an announcement introducing a new program to help low income residential customers to make electricity more affordable.
Debt, subterfuge will cost BC Hydro ratepayers
Ratepayers in BC can expect dramatic electricity-rate increases for years to come. Those rate increases will be needed to pay off B.C. Hydro’s soaring long-term debt and other costs the company has shunted to future ratepayers to make itself seem profitable and offset the impact of its spending on current customers.
Increasing BC Hydro rates drive request for an electricity affordability program
Legal advocacy group, the BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre (BCPIAC) will ask the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) to implement an electricity affordability program for BC Hydro’s 160,000 low income residential customers. The proposal consists of three strategies to address the hardship caused by high hydro rates on low income customers.
Gas marketers coming to Island
Effective January 1, B.C.’s local gas distribution company, FortisBC, amalgamated its various operating companies into a single entity. As a result, programs previously available only on the Mainland will soon be available on Vancouver Island.
BCPIAC gratefully acknowledges the continued financial support that the