British Columbians can expect to pay a little more on their hydro bills in the next couple of years.
Energy Minister Adrian Dix announced Monday that the province would be directing the BC Utilities Commission to set a 3.75 per cent rate increase at BC Hydro in each of the next two years.
“For the average residential household this year, which currently pays approximately $100 per month, it equates to an additional $3.75 per month,” Dix said.
Dix said the move was meant to ensure “certainty and stability” in electricity rates amid a variety of rising cost pressures.
Those include paying for BC Hydro’s 10-year, $36-billion capital plan, paying off the Site C dam, costs related to B.C.’s multi-year drought and the effects of inflation.
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“This planned rate adjustment will support critical investments in our system, enabling us to maintain our position as a leader in renewable energy while driving economic growth and creating jobs across British Columbia,” BC Hydro CEO Chris O’Reily said.
Dix said electricity rates in B.C. remain the third-lowest in North America, behind Manitoba and Quebec, also major hydroelectric power producers.
He added that hydro rate increases remain 12.7 per cent below the cumulative rate of inflation since 2017.
“Adjusting for inflation, electricity in B.C. is the same today as it was 40 years ago,” Dix said.
The rate increases will take effect April 1, 2025 and April 1, 2026.
The Site C dam is slated to come fully online this year, increasing the province’s power supply by about eight per cent.
The province has also announced 10 new wind power projects projected to feed a similar volume of electricity to the grid by early next decade.
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