717 replies to this topic

[Matt R.]

Every single additional step is a reduction in bureaucracy and thus, more money left in your wallet.

Edited by Matt R., 04 March 2024 - 01:32 PM.

[Nparker]

Ideally these rebates and incentives would come with stiff taxes...

They already do.

[aastra]

 

Every single additional step is a reduction in bureaucracy and thus, more money left in your wallet.

 

Exactly. Less bureaucracy through more bureaucracy. It takes a lot of paperwork to reduce paperwork.

Although ideally we wouldn't be allowed to carry money in wallets. Ideally we would have a readout of our net worth projected onto our foreheads at all times.

[Victoria Watcher]

Les Leyne: We're nearing the bottom of B.C. Hydro's bag of tricks to keep rates low

B.C. Hydro needs an ocean of new money sooner rather than later.

 

 

https://www.timescol...tes-low-8402828

 

 

There may or may not be parades and jubilation when the “electricity affordability credit” starts showing up seven months before the October provincial election, BC United MLA Mike de Jong noted on Tuesday (sardonically).

 

It amounts to about $100 for one year only — 25 cents a day — so they won’t be long parades. And a quiet cabinet order signed a few weeks ago to do with how rate hikes are tied to inflation further dampens the excitement about the one-off credit.

 

De Jong asked Energy Minister Josie Osborne about it in the legislature and got nowhere. She dwelled on the credit instead.

 

“The B.C. electricity affordability credit is nothing to laugh at.” She later deflected by slamming the previous B.C. Liberal government’s record of managing electricity rates.

 

It’s a story that goes back generations. An enormous amount of work goes into planning electricity rates. Much of it is on hiding, disguising, minimizing and pushing them off into the future.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 06 March 2024 - 09:24 PM.

[Mike K.]

There it is.

 

Get everyone hooked on hydro, then rapidly increase rates. Classic.

 

Site C is among the smallest dams in BC, at 1.1GW, and 4,600GWh annual production. Construction started in 2015. Completion will occur in 2025.

 

To put that into perspective, one EV semi-truck requires 2 kWhs/mile driven. An annual average for a semi is 45,000 miles/year. Or 90,000kWhs of electricity.

 

4,600GWhs of annual production at Site C will power 100,000 trucks. In the US alone there are 1.1 million semis, as of 2021. So where is the rest of the power supposed to come from? We need 12 Site Cs to power America's trucks. Now what about the 150 million cars?

[Victoria Watcher]

Hooked on Hydro!

Scheduled for the Tinto Rocks festival in 2027.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 07 March 2024 - 08:11 AM.

[Mike K.]

That meant something else when we were growing up 

[Matt R.]

Commercial power usage down again this month, 44 kWh or 9% less.

[FogPub]

There it is.

 

Get everyone hooked on hydro, then rapidly increase rates. Classic.

 

Site C is among the smallest dams in BC, at 1.1GW, and 4,600GWh annual production. Construction started in 2015. Completion will occur in 2025.

 

To put that into perspective, one EV semi-truck requires 2 kWhs/mile driven. An annual average for a semi is 45,000 miles/year. Or 90,000kWhs of electricity.

 

4,600GWhs of annual production at Site C will power 100,000 trucks. In the US alone there are 1.1 million semis, as of 2021. So where is the rest of the power supposed to come from? We need 12 Site Cs to power America's trucks. Now what about the 150 million cars?

Why do we need to worry about powering all of America's trucks?

[Mike K.]

America supplies a big part of our already 20% hydro deficiency, which is going to grow substantially in the coming years.

We should worry, because America, with its own power needs, won’t be providing that hydro cheap.

[Victoria Watcher]

America supplies a big part of our already 20% hydro deficiency

 

Slow down, cowboy.  Our typical import is well under 8%, on average.  And net importing in any year is still very rare.

 

 

https://wernerantwei...item=2023-12-21

 

 

 

You're welcome to your own opinions, but let's stick to agreed facts.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 March 2024 - 05:25 AM.

[Mike K.]

I’m going by what the media is reporting, Dec 2023:

BC Hydro imported about 10,000-gigawatt hours of electricity this year, about a fifth of its total load, at a cost of more than $450 million.

- https://globalnews.c...ity-import/amp/

Electric vehicles are going to be so ridiculously expensive to operate…

[Victoria Watcher]

California has some of the highest rates for electricity in the US, and they are the highest electric-car buyers in the US.  They do not seem to mind.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 March 2024 - 05:47 AM.

[Mike K.]

“Highest” and California go hand in hand. Not sure why we are so determined to emulate them.

[lanforod]

Last year was an anomaly. Typically, we make more than we sell in terms of dollars for electricity with other provinces and states.
If these droughts become a pattern, my understanding is BC Hydro has a plan for that, though I'm not sure how to get around it other than having more generation of some type or simply buying power (if its even available).

[LJ]

California has some of the highest rates for electricity in the US, and they are the highest electric-car buyers in the US.  They do not seem to mind.

They indeed do have the highest rates in the country, but wait, there's more.

 

Now they are going to put a surcharge on your bill based on income.

 

https://www.foxbusin...e-more-pay-more

[Matt R.]

Email came in about the affordability credit, happy to see the 4.6% rebate on our MGS and SGS accounts, combined hydro costs of about 25k a year, so not huge but better than a kick in the pants.

Oh yeah, rates go up next month too don’t they.

[Nparker]

Rebating me my own money is such a joke. Why not just lower the BC Hydro rates, or reduce taxes in general?

[Mike K.]

$100 payout on average for a residential customer, and paid over a year.

 

On February 22, the Government of B.C. announced [PDF] a new B.C. Electricity Affordability Credit that will provide the average BC Hydro residential customer with an annual savings of around $100.

 

To be eligible for this credit, you must have an active account as of March 31, 2024. The credit will be automatically calculated and divided over your BC Hydro bills over the next 12 months.

 

The exact credit amount you’ll receive will be based on your home's electricity consumption between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024. For the average household, this will provide savings of around $100. Customers with the lowest consumption last year will receive no less than $24.

 

There's no action you need to take. You'll start receiving the credit on your first bill after April 15, 2024. The credit will appear as a line item in your bill details once it's been applied.

 

If you're currently on a pre-authorized payment plan, your payment amounts over the next 12 months will be reduced by your credit amount.

 

 

[Matt R.]

Sometimes I feel like all these rebates and such could be accomplished by letting everyone earn $35,000 tax free, instead of the $11 or so we get now.