BCUC decision on BC Hydro's Revenue Requirements Application for F2009-F2010 On March 27, BC Hydro issued a compliance filing with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) in response to the commission's March 13 decision on BC Hydro's two-year Revenue Requirements Application [PDF, 2.5 Mb] for fiscal 2009 and 2010. The Revenue Requirements Application reflects the expenditures BC Hydro requires to operate in fiscal years 2009 and 2010. The application was originally filed with the commission in February of 2008. Based on the BCUC decision, BC Hydro has calculated that rates will increase by 2.34 per cent in fiscal 2009 (ending March 31, 2009) and by 8.74 per cent in fiscal 2010 (starting April 1, 2009). As a result, and given the interim rate increase of 6.56 per cent that has been in effect since April 1, 2008, residential customers with an average consumption of 11,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year, for example, can expect a credit refund of approximately $30 for fiscal 2009. Customers can expect to receive their refund in the form of a credit to their bill during the June billing cycle. For the average residential customer, BC Hydro estimates the bill impact to be $2-4 more per month, effective April 1, 2009. This bill impact takes into account an increase in the rate rider from 0.5 per cent to 1.0 per cent, also effective 1 April, 2009. Residential Conservation Rate As a result of the BCUC decision, the residential two-step Conservation Rate will be adjusted as follows, effective April 1, 2009:   1 Apr 09  Old Step 1 (cents/kWh): 5.91 5.98 Step 2 (cents/kWh): 8.27 7.21 Bill impact on April 1, 2009 The following provides an example of the monthly bill impact to various residential customers based on their annual consumption: 5,000 kWh/year: $0.10 less per month 8,100 kWh/year: $0.70 more per month 11,000 kWh/year: $2.50 more per month (average consumption in B.C.) 22,000 kWh/year: $13 more per month Please see our Hot Topics section for more information about rates. The full BCUC decision is available here [PDF, 2.5 Mb].

Conservation Rate creates incentive to save electricity

Customer efforts to reduce their electricity consumption will be rewarded under the rate structure that came into effect October 1, 2008.

The British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) recently approved [PDF, 143 Kb] a, two-step Conservation Rate for BC Hydro's residential customers.

• How the rate works
• How you can conserve more and save money
• Why we need a conservation rate structure

How the rate works

Effective April 1, 2009, under the Conservation Rate, residential customers will pay 5.91 cents per kWh for the first 1,350 kWh they use over a two-month billing period. Above that amount, customers will pay 8.27 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.

NOTE: The exact amount of electricity you are charged for at the Step 1 price is based on the number of days in your billing cycle. The 1,350 kWh figure is based on an average two-month billing cycle. To calculate how much electricity you are charged for at the Step 1 price, multiply the number of days in your billing cycle by 22.1918 kWh per day which is calculated in the following way: 1,350 kWh multiplied by 6 bi-monthly billing periods in one year divided by 365 days in the year = 22.1918 kWh/day.

How you can save money

All customers can take action to reduce their electricity consumption and lower their bills.

If customers reduce their consumption by just 1,000 kWh over the course of a year – or about 10 per cent of the average user's annual consumption – they will save up to $82 per year. The following table presents numerous examples of energy-saving measures that can significantly lower electricity bills.

Conservation tip	Savings – kWh/yr (approximate)	Cost to implement	Annual Savings @ 8.27 cents/ kWh* (approximate)
Electronics
Turn off computer when not in use	170	$0	$14
Turn off TV when not in use	170	$0	$14
Turn off a TV for 1 hour/day	50	$0	$4
Turn off video game console when not in use	200	$0	$16.50
Electrical Appliances
Hang clothes to dry 50 per cent of the time	520	$0	$43
Wash clothes in cold water	480	$0	$40
Don't use heat dry feature on the dishwasher	110	$0	$9
Adjust fridge temperature to 4°C if set at 3°C	40	$0	$3.50
Remove second fridge and get $30.00 incentive	1,200	$0	$100
Lighting
Turn off 4 60W lights for 1 hour/day	90	$0	$7.50
Turn off 2 60W lights for 1 hour/day	45	$0	$3.50
Install 5 CFLs in high-use locations	250	$25	$21
Install 10 strings of LED holiday light	190	$70	$16
Heating/whole home
Turn heat down 1 degree C	800	$0	$65
Install a programmable thermostat and turn the heat down 4-5 degrees overnight and when you're not at home	240	$50	$20
Install water heater blanket	150	$25	$12
Upgrade attic insulation to R40	500	$700	$41
LiveSmart BC Efficiency Incentive Program	2,500	$1,700**	$200

* 8.27 cents per kWh is expected to be the Step 2 price of the Conservation Rate on April 1, 2009
**Estimated net cost after incentives

See our list of 50-plus conservation tips & to-dos.

Why we need a conservation rate structure

Demand for electricity in British Columbia is growing and new electricity supply is more expensive than power from our existing resources.

The higher Step 2 price is a better reflection of the real cost of that new electricity supply.

The Conservation Rate structure provides a price incentive to encourage conservation – which is the cleanest, cheapest and simplest way to meet growing electricity demand.

The conservation rate structure is expected to yield about 300 gigawatt hours a year of electricity savings province-wide by 2010 – enough to power 30,000 households for a year.

The two-step Conservation Rate structure is revenue neutral. In other words, BC Hydro is doing this to encourage conservation, not to generate more revenue.