The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary is complaining about what one director calls a “huge disparity” in rates between FortisBC and BC Hydro.
FortisBC, a private company, provides electricity to about 200,000 customers in the West Kootenay, Okanagan, and Similkameen. BC Hydro, a Crown corporation, serves most of the rest of the province.
Beaver Valley director Ali Grieve, who raised the issue, said the difference in rates between the two utilities isn’t a new issue, “but the gap seems to be widening significantly.”
Grieve said there are different ways to compare the rates and rate structures of the two companies, but residential FortisBC customers pay between 28 and 44 per cent more for their power.
By her reckoning, a home served by FortisBC that uses 825 killowatts of power per month might end up paying $500 more per year to keep the lights on.
“Just because we live in the Southern Interior doesn’t mean we should suffer from these dramatically different costs,” she said. “What’s puzzling to us is how can we live in one of BC’s major hydro producing regions and still pay substantially more for electricity?”
FortisBC generates electricity from its four Kootenay River dams and also buys power from other providers at wholesale rates through long-term contracts.
The RDKB board agreed last month to write to the provincial government and the BC Utilities Commission, which regulates power providers in the province, asking whether anything can be done to close the gap between the two companies.
Grieve said regardless of whether anything comes of their letter, it’s worth pointing out their concerns.
Asked by Vista Radio to respond, FortisBC said it understands energy costs are important to its customers.
“FortisBC and BC Hydro are separate companies serving different customers,” the company said in a prepared statement. “Each one designs and manages its electricity system based on the unique needs of their regions and customers, and files separate rate applications based on different factors, which can result in rate differences.”
FortisBC said a “significant driver” of its rate increases in recent years has been the increased cost of buying wholesale power.
“To help offset costs, we continually monitor where we obtain power based on price and what’s required to meet customers’ needs, and sell any excess power back to the market,” the company said.
Each year FortisBC submits a rate increase request to the BC Utilities Commission, which regulates and reviews prices. The increases the company seeks are not always granted.
