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As winter sets in and heating bills start to spike, the NDP government says it will be reviewing two-tiered electrical billing.
Premier Horgan reopened the debate this week, telling reporters at the legislature he’s unhappy with the way the previous government brought the system in to save power in 2008.
In a statement to Castanet News on Friday, B.C. Energy Minister Michelle Mungall said her government recognizes there are issues with the graduated system.
“Especially in regions of the province not served by natural gas and by people who rely on electricity to heat their homes in the winter,” she said. “Our government is committed to making life affordable for everyone. In the months ahead, we will work with BC Hydro, FortisBC and the BCUC to address concerns about two-tiered rates.”
The comments will give hope to opponents of the system. A BCUC report earlier this year found that two-step billing doesn’t negatively impact the majority of low-income customers. However, FortisBC estimated about 10 per cent of their customers were more than 10 per cent worse off.
Mungall encouraged people to let their electricity provider and B.C. Utilities Commission know their concerns.
The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen is working on just that. It is in the process of gathering testimony from residents negatively impacted by two-tiered billing as it prepares to register as an intervener to the FortisBC 2017 rate design application to the BCUC.
