New Billing Creates Hydro Complaints

Written by Kim Calloway  107.5 KISSFM Friday, 01 March 2013 11:34 
  Many Okanagan residents say they are startled at first, then outright angry as they look over their latest electricity bills. And they're beginning to complain to both B-C Hydro and Fortis B-C, about major hikes, thanks to the utilities and their new, two-tier billing systems. In some cases, householders say their bi-monthly bills are close to double what they were a year ago, because they're now charged much more per kilowatt-hour, when they use more than 16-hundred-kilowatt hours. (sic) The problem seems to be--it's turning out to be all but impossible to run a household at that low a consumption figure, so the 'high user'rate kicks in quickly. Both utility companies acknowledge they're getting complaints, andthey're listening.

Residential Rates -Fortis

Bi-monthly Residential Service:

• Customer Charge $30.33 based on 60 day billing period.
• First 1,600 kWh are billed @ 8.803¢ per kWh.
• Additional kWh are billed @ 12.952¢ per kWh.

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Don Quixote Note: 
 Below is a BC HYDRO Rate Comparison Data.
https://www.bchydro.com/accounts-billing/customer-service-residential/residential-rates.html

Residential Conservation Rate

Under the Residential Conservation Rate, customers pay 6.80 cents per kWh for the first 1,350 kWh they use over an average two-month billing period. Above that amount, customers pay 10.19 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.

How your threshold is determined

On your bill, the Step 1 threshold is calculated by multiplying the number of days in the billing period by 22.1918 kWh per day.  Customer meters are read on different days so billing periods can vary from bill to bill. The 22.1918 kWh per day is the daily equivalent of 1,350 kWh for the average two month billing period.  For example, a 60-day billing period would have a Step 1 threshold of 1,332 kWh (60 days x 22.1918 kWh per day). A 58-day billing period would have a 1,287 kWh Step 1 threshold.