717 replies to this topic

[LeoVictoria]

Substation fault

[AllseeingEye]

Ongoing; cruised through there dropping the teen kidlin off at Mayfair for a graveyard shift not long ago. Light at Gorge and Tillicum is out although the next one along Tillicum closer to the mall is fine. Tillicum Mall itself was ok but Pearkes Arena and that surrounding neighborhood appears to be out. Always good entertainment watching Victoria drivers attempt to figure out the 4 way 'stop & go in turn' rule when the traffic lights are down....

[AllseeingEye]

Whoops - streetlight across from us just blew out and I see now the outage has spread to include our area on this side of the Gorge although as yet our house is unaffected. Can literally hear the electricity surging and humming through the wires - that can't be good -

 

https://www.bchydro....#outage=1051083

[Redd42]

Power was out for almost 12 hours, only coming on around 6:30 am. Some very cold folks will likely be late for work this morning.

[Mike K.]

Friend said she heard an explosion then smoke filled her home. She lives in the Gorge and Harriett area.

[Rob Randall]

Power outage in the 700 block Yates affecting some businesses. Bulk Barn and the entire St. Andrews building have no electricity. BC Hydro is tight-lipped about the cause but evidence suggests underground construction work on the street outside is the culprit.

[Rob Randall]

Another sign up today on 700 block Yates buildings: be prepared for a power outage today at any time. I hope anyone putting the finishing touches on that big Excel document has saved their work.

[Mike K.]

Over 30,000 customers without power across Vancouver Island.

[Mike K.]

The NDP have reneged on their election promise to freeze BC Hydro rates.

 

An increase of 3% is coming this spring.

[Jason-L]

The NDP have reneged on their election promise to freeze BC Hydro rates.

 

An increase of 3% is coming this spring.

Well, to be fair, its the quasi-judicial Utilities Commission that's saying "No, you can't freeze the rates."  It's not like the NDP didn't try, sometimes Mom & Dad just aren't going to let you go to the movie no matter what you told your friends, y'know?

 

 

 

[Mike K.]

The government said it chose not to force the rate freeze, which it could have had it wanted to.

 

I suspect the BCUC schooled the government and explained why their dismissal of BC Hydro's 3% rate increase request and subsequent proposal to keep rates frozen was bad business.

[Cassidy]

The NDP have reneged on their election promise to freeze BC Hydro rates.

 

An increase of 3% is coming this spring.

Minor clarification ... the B.C. Government was unsuccessful in their election promise to approach the B.C.U.C. and plead a case that would see utility rates frozen.

 

They didn't promise pre-election that whatever decision the B.C.U.C. made would be overridden by the NDP if they formed the governement.

 

So in effect, the N.D.P. most definitely kept the promise they made to the voters in B.C.

Edited by Cassidy, 02 March 2018 - 02:20 PM.

[VicHockeyFan]

Nothing to stop the BC government from directly paying 3% of everyone's bill.

[Mike K.]

Nothing to stop the province from taking it a step further and forcing the freeze.

[Mike K.]

Minor clarification ... the B.C. Government was unsuccessful in their election promise to approach the B.C.U.C. and plead a case that would see utility rates frozen.

 

They didn't promise pre-election that whatever decision the B.C.U.C. made would be overridden by the NDP if they formed the governement.

 

So in effect, the N.D.P. most definitely kept the promise they made to the voters in B.C.

 

Thanks for the spin, doctor.

 

Care to take a crack at this one, embarrassingly dated November 7 of last year?

 

Province delivers on commitment to freeze BC Hydro rates

The British Columbia government is delivering on its promise to freeze BC Hydro rates, putting an end to the years of spiralling electricity costs that have made life less affordable for B.C. homeowners and renters, Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Michelle Mungall announced today.

 

...

 

“After years of escalating electricity costs, British Columbians deserve a break on their bills,” said Mungall. “From the moment we took office, we’ve taken action to make life more affordable. As part of that, we’re going to make sure that BC Hydro is working for the benefit of all British Columbians and that its rates reflect that commitment.” - https://news.gov.bc....EMPR0021-001875

[VicHockeyFan]

Nothing to stop the province from taking it a step further and forcing the freeze.

 

This is true, they can just rewrite the law wrt BCUC law:

 

When a sitting government by majority vote signals a BC Hydro rate freeze or decrease, that shall be granted, notwithstanding any other BCUC decisions.

Edited by VicHockeyFan, 02 March 2018 - 04:17 PM.

[Cassidy]

It's more complicated than that.

Of course the sitting government can overturn a BCUC decision ... BUT:

 

Weaver won't support the government overturning the BCUC decision, as he feels if the Liberals had listened to the BCUC rather than venturing out on their own we wouldn't have Site C on our hands.

 

So BCUC makes their decision, and the NDP accepts it rather than overturns it ... as to overturn it could (likely would) inspire Green rage and potentially unseat the sitting government.

 

Focusing on the NDP and spinning some sort of failure to fulfil an election promise overlooks the complexity of running a coalition government.

My post above is accurate.

The NDP tried to freeze Hydro rates as they indicated they would, but despite their efforts, they failed.

[Mike K.]

Of course they tried, but they failed even after saying it was a done deal.

You don’t make promises you can’t keep. But making promises wins elections.

[tjv]

Frankly I am less concerned about the freeze and more concerned about the tier 2 pricing.  I don't have access to gas so my options are oil or electric heat and chose the later for many reasons including that electricity is very environmentally friendly in BC.  My latest hydro bill is $1000 with my electric heat pumps

 

Anyway, when is the next election again?  Can't wait to boot the NDP from power!

[tjv]

Nothing to stop the BC government from directly paying 3% of everyone's bill.

https://thetyee.ca/N...reeze-rejected/

 

Sounds like they already have a plan B

 

Also interesting that BC Hydro will transfer $712 Million to the province this coming year from profits