BC’s Electricity Affordability Credit goes into effect Monday and is expected to apply to BC Hydro bills after April 15.
A release from the province’s Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation says the credit will provide an average savings of $100.
According to the release, the credit will be automatically calculated, applied and divided over BC Hydro customer’s bills over the next 12 months.
To be eligible for the credit, customers must have an active account as of March 31, 2024.
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“Nearly all customers will pay less this year than they did last year. The exact credit amount is based on an individual customer’s annual electricity consumption prior to March 31, 2024,” the release says.
Electricity rates will be increasing by about 2.3%, however.
The province claims that the Electricity Affordability Credit should offset the increase.
The Ministry says BC Hydro rates remain some of the lowest in North America and are currently more than 15% lower than the rate of inflation over the past seven years.
Additionally, the release says the credit is also available to customers of non-BC Hydro electricity utilities, including FortisBC and municipal utilities.
“The Province has entered into agreements with these utilities to ensure their ratepayers receive comparable credits,” the release says.
