New Rate Structures for Business Customers
Effective January 1, 2011, Large General Service (LGS) customers were given increased financial incentives to conserve energy in tandem with the introduction of the province’s new conservation rate. When these customers use less energy than they did in the past, they’ll now receive a credit – including a portion paid at a higher price per kWh.
The LGS rate is the latest in a series of conservation rate structures to be implemented across all rate classes to help meet growing energy demand. Large industrial customers moved to a conservation rate in 2006 and residential customers followed in 2008.
Customers can determine if they qualify as a LGS customer in two ways:
- They receive service under rate schedules 1200, 1201, 1210 or 1211
- They either have an annual peak demand greater than or equal to 150 kilowatts (kW)
or they have annual energy usage greater than 550,000 kilowatt hours (kWh)
A new rate class has also been created for Medium General Service (MGS) customers. These MGS customers have an annual peak demand ranging from 35 kW up to 150 kW and annual energy usage less than 550,000 kWh.
These customers currently pay one price (8.16 ¢/kWh*) for the first 14,800 kWh of energy they consume in a month, and a lower price (3.93 ¢/kWh*) for additional energy consumed that month. Beginning January 1, 2011, adjustments will be made to reduce the difference between the two prices (the higher rate for the first 14,800 kWh will come down, and the lower rate for additional energy consumption will go up). Four further adjustments to reduce the difference between the kWh rates will occur on April 1st beginning in 2011 and each year following through 2014.
What does this mean for our incentives?
As an Alliance member, you may want to learn more to help you calculate accurate payback periods and annual savings for your customers. To assist you with understanding all aspects of these rates, we are planning a webinar specifically for our Alliance members at the beginning of February. You’ll have the opportunity to learn how these changes will work directly from BC Hydro’s rates group. Stay tuned for more information regarding this webinar.
In the meantime, if you’d like to know more, please visit the websites for the Large General Service rates and Medium General Service rates, where you can watch a tutorial and get more details.