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VANCOUVER – BC Hydro today announced its financial results for Fiscal 2008, including a consolidated net income of $369-million for the year ended March 31, 2008. BC Hydro's net income decreased by $38-million over the previous year mainly due to lower energy trading income.

"Overall, our financial results for Fiscal 2008 are in line with expectations and I am very pleased that the energy saved through our Power Smart programs exceeded expectations," said Bob Elton, BC Hydro President and CEO. "High water inflows allowed us to lower costs by reducing market purchases, while capital expenditures increased as we continue to expand generation and distribution capacity, upgrade aging assets, and improve system resiliency."

Other highlights of the annual report include:

• Total domestic revenues were $2,944-million, $158-million higher than the previous year, primarily due to strong demand in the residential and commercial sectors. This was partially offset by decreased revenue from the industrial sector due to a reduction in load requirements as a result of the coastal forestry strike and reduced demand for lumber in the U.S. housing sector.
• Operating costs for Fiscal 2008 were $226-million higher than the previous year, primarily as a result of First Nations settlements, higher maintenance costs due to system resiliency improvements, and higher levels of work in vegetation maintenance and routine system restoration.
• Capital expenditures increased by $265-million to $1,072-million in Fiscal 2008, due to work on the fifth Revelstoke turbine unit, stator and rotor pole replacements, reinforcement work, transmission expenditures for replacement and reinforcement work on the Vancouver Island transmission connection to meet growing customer demand.
• Energy saved through Power Smart programs surpassed expectations and continued to deliver cost-effective energy over the last fiscal year, producing cumulative energy savings of 2,844 GWh, an increase of 326 GWh over Fiscal 2007. This increased saving is equivalent to powering 32,600 homes for a year.

For more information, view the full content of the 2008 Annual Report.