(The following is a motion presented to the regional district by alternate Area C director Rick Knodel.)
I cannot speak for any of the other regional directors or municipal politicians but I do believe that they are experiencing the same level of complaints regarding the pricing of electricity.
It would be easy to vilify FortisBC or B.C. Hydro for this but the truth is the provincial government controls the rate of price increases through the B.C. Utilities Commission.
This does not absolve FortisBC from the callus use of disconnect notices. It has no consequence for a corporation that has no need to build customer loyalty because it works inside a monopoly environment. If forced to conduct business in a competitive environment where customer satisfaction was a factor in corporate survival I am sure that the attitudes would be much gentler if not proactive given the drawn out severity of this past winter.
In recent years there has been a push to lower power consumption by increasing the price and the introduction of a punishing two-tiered pricing model.
This has led to questionable practices, such as the balancing of provincial spending by pulling large dividends from crown corporations, and the supporting of unreasonable ventures by forcing the purchase of outrageously priced power from private utilities.
This is nothing less than taxation without representation.
It was not that many years ago that the provincial government was encouraging residents to switch to electric heat as it was a clean energy source that was abundant and would be very low cost into the future.
These price increasing policies are proving to have a devastating social cost as recently witnessed in Ontario. The most severely affected of course are the disabled and retired on fixed income and lower income families (adding to child poverty and the upswing in food bank use, also the forcing of some from their homes into social housing).
The outcries have up to now been falling on deaf ears. I believe that, as this is an election year and the problem is widespread, now is a good time to propose a solution.
The most prudent course of action would be to remove or at minimum increase the second tier kick-in point to at least 4800 kwh, and termination of any further rate increases.
This is reasonable as the cost of production is calculated in Canada at $0.03 to $0.05 per kwh depending on geographic area. For reference the U.S. calculates the cost of hydroelectric power at $0.0085 to $0.02 per kwh.
I make a motion that the RDOS draft a letter supporting this action to be sent to the premier, the minister of natural resources , the minister of mines and energy, B.C. Utilities Commission and the two official opposition parties.
