BC Hydro bills to jump 50% with new plan power

tiffiant

BC Hydro bills to jump 50% with new plan
Increase fuelled by investments in transmission and regeneration

VANCOUVER - BC Hydro calls its $6-billion capital plan a "regeneration" of its system, which it anticipates will cost the average consumer 32 per cent in rate increases over the next three years more than 50 per cent over the next five years.

BC Hydro, on Tuesday, unveiled the latest capital project in its three-year capital plan ahead of filing its three-year application for power rates with the British Columbia Utilities Commission, an $860 million upgrade of the Ruskin Dam and generating station near Mission.

That rate application will seek 9.73-per-cent rate increases in each of the next three years, which would raise the average homeowner bill of $71 per month by 32 per cent to $93.81 between 2012 and 2014.

BC Hydro CEO Dave Cobb added that future increases are speculative, but in background infromation on the utility's website, it anticipated rate increases of seven per cent in the subsequent two years raising them 50 per cent over five years

Cobb argued it is a necessary hit on consumers' utility bills given the lack of reinvestment in its system starting in the mid 1990s.

"Unfortunately to some degree, I would say, these tough decisions were put off and pushed back and pushed back," Cobb said during a conference call.

"And we're now at the point where we believe the responsible thing to do on behalf of our customers is to regenerate our system and invest in it responsibly, but only to the extent that we have to."

BC Hydro is forecasting that on top of the need to upgrade its existing power plants and transmission linew, it will need to meet a 40-per-cent increase in demand for electricity over the next 20 years.

tiffiant

And Cobb added that BC Hydro will put a big focus on conservation in its plan. Its goal is to meet 66 per cent of new power needs by getting consumers to use less electricity.

"If we don't conserve as much as w're planning to, we'll have to invest more, build more," he said.

The government opposition's new energy critic, however, said BC Hydro needs more public oversite of its capital plan to prove that all elements of it are in the public interest.

"There's no doubt BC Hydro needs to do some reinvesting in its exisitn power generation projects," Doug Donaldson, the NDP MLA for Stikine said in an interview.

"But I would say if the B.C. Liberals idea of an energy plan is a 50-per-cent rate hike over five years's, that's something most people would find unacceptable. That's not an energy plan at all."

While BC Hydro's application for the rate increase is subject to a hearing by the B.C. Utilities Commission, Donaldson noted that the Clean Energy Act passed by government in 2010 exempts elements of BC Hydro's capital plan from B.C. Utilities Commission oversight, such as its $930-million project to replace 1.8 million manual electricity meters with electronic smart meters.

"The alternative is to open up the books so we actually know how the money is being spent, especially in regard to private-power projects," Donaldson added.

Cobb said Hydro officials "challenge each other every day" with respect to the costs included in the rate application that it is making, and is confident they will be able to convince consumers that the utility is spending carefully and investing in assets that will provide a return to the province.

Donaldson said he was glad to see that BC Hydro is proceeding with an application to the B.C. Utilities Commission for review of the Ruskin Dam project, which will see the 80-year-old facilities seismically upgraded and its generating equipment replaced.

Chris O'Riley, Hydro's executive vice-president for power generation, said the Ruskin upgrade will only result in a marginal increase in its 105-megawatt, but it is a necessary improvement to a facility that is reaching the end of its life.

"What we're going to get is to be able to rely on it for the next 80 years," O'Riley said.

tiffiant

Ruskin Dam and Powerhouse


BC Hydro announced plans Tuesday to implement upgrades at the Ruskin Dam and Powerhouse near Mission.



BC Hydro looks to do $800-million upgrade to Ruskin Dam



BC Hydro announced plans Tuesday to implement upgrades at the Ruskin Dam and Powerhouse near Mission.



BC Hydro announced plans Tuesday to implement upgrades at the Ruskin Dam and Powerhouse near Mission.



BC Hydro announced plans Tuesday to implement upgrades at the Ruskin Dam and Powerhouse near Mission.



BC Hydro says it plans to apply to the B.C. Utilities Commission this week to proceed with an upgrade to the 80-year-old Ruskin Dam and Powerhouse in Mission, at a cost of up to $860 million, the equivalent of building another Golden Ears Bridge. Dave Cobb is president and CEO of BC Hydro.