Knowing how to read your BC Hydro residential customer bill is a good way to monitor your exact electricity usage and see how conservation efforts can reduce your expenses.
Select the links below for a section-by-section explanation of what's on your bill and why, plus links to more information.
1. Name and address
Your name and service address.
2. Billing date, account number, pay by, please pay
Billing Date: Date the bill was issued.
Account Number: Your account number(s). If you have more than one service location, they will be consolidated onto one itemized bill and you will see a different account number for each one.
Pay By: Payment due date. Pay your bill by this date to avoid a late charge of 1.5% per month on unpaid amounts of $30 or more.
Please Pay: Total amount owing, which includes the current bill amount plus any outstanding balances from previous bills.
3. Invoice number
The unique number assigned to your invoice.
4. Customer service
Please call our Customer Service team at 604 224 9376 (in the Lower Mainland) or 1 800 224 9376 for questions about your bill. In the case of a power outage, please call 1 888 769 3766.
In the case of a power outage, please call 1 888 769 3766.
If you are paying your bill by mail, please send to BC Hydro, PO Box 9501 Stn Terminal, Vancouver BC, V6B 4N1.
5. Previous bill
Amount due from your previous bill and payment(s) received.
Power Smart offers programs to help businesses save money and realize the benefits of energy saving measures.
6. Basic charge
The Basic Charge partially recovers the fixed costs of service such as metering and billing.
7. Daily average comparison
Comparison of daily average usage per billing period with previous periods.
8. Energy charge
Under the Residential Conservation Rate, customers pay 6.67 cents per kWh for the first 1,350 kWh they use over an average two-month billing period. Above that amount, customers pay 9.62 cents per kWh for the balance of the electricity used during the billing period. This rate structure is designed to encourage conservation and is referred to as a "stepped rate". The first portion is called Step 1 and the amount above that is called Step 2.
The Step 1 threshold of 1,350 per 2 months is prorated based on the number of days in the billing period for a particular bill. For example, if the billing period is 60 days, the Step 1 threshold of 1,332 kWh = 1,350 kWh x 6 bi-monthly billing periods/365 days x 60 days.
Power Smart offers programs to help businesses save money and realize the benefits of energy saving measures.
9. Rate rider
A Rate Rider is applied to the total of all charges, before taxes and levies. Amounts received from the Rate Rider are used to recover additional and unpredictable energy costs resulting from, for example, low water inflows and higher-than-forecast market prices.
10. Tax
Tax: HST (12%) is applicable on all electric charges (as denoted by an asterisk).
Energy Credit: The BC HST Residential Energy Credit Program offsets the provincial portion (7%) of the HST.
11. Balance payable
Total amount owing, which includes the current bill amount plus any outstanding balances from previous bills.
12. Detachable portion of your bill
Detach this section of your bill and return with payment.
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