With the days getting shorter and the weather getting colder, the BC government announced on Wednesday that it is freezing BC Hydro rates.
“After years of escalating electricity costs, British Columbians deserve a break on their bills,” said Michelle Mungall, BC’s Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources.
Rates have gone up by more than 24% in the last four years, and by more than 70% since 2001, she added.
In 2016, BC Hydro “applied to the BC Utilities Commission for three years of increases, with a 3% increase planned next year, but will be pulling back its request, consistent with this administration’s commitment to a rate freeze,” Mungall said.
The rate freeze is meant to give the government time to undertake a comprehensive review of BC Hydro.
That review, Mungall explained, will “identify changes and cost savings to keep rates low while ensuring BC Hydro has the resources it needs to continue to provide clean, safe and reliable electricity.”
Once the review is finished, any cost and revenue adjustments identified will be reflected in rates starting in April 2019.
See also
Follow Channels and Categories