B.C. power prices remain third lowest in North America

BC Hydro rates remain among North America's lowest, with residential bills about $40 below surveyed cities, per the Hydro-Quebec report, as a 10-year plan funds $2 billion annually for infrastructure and aging assets.

VANCOUVER — A new independent report indicates that average electricity prices for residential customers in British Columbia remain the third lowest in North America, behind only Montreal and Winnipeg.

The average monthly residential bill in B.C. is about $40 lower than the average of the cities surveyed, even as BC Hydro seeks a 10 per cent hike to address system needs.

The Hydro-Quebec report also shows that B.C. has the fourth lowest rates in North America for commercial and large industrial customers, and recent BC Hydro news provides additional context on provincial pricing trends.

Utilities across North America, including BC Hydro, continue to see increases in costs driven by the need to make substantial investments in aging facilities and infrastructure. The Province of B.C. and BC Hydro have introduced a 10-year plan to keep rates as low as possible while BC Hydro makes investments in aging assets and new infrastructure that support B.C.'s growing population and economy, including rate increases for upgrades to critical systems.

BC Hydro is forecasting expenditures, on average, of about $2 billion a year over the next 10 years to refurbish, upgrade, expand and add to its system of dams and wires — the generation, transmission and distribution assets that create and deliver electricity to B.C.'s homes, businesses and industry, alongside private power projects in the province.

The report is compiled each year by Hydro-Quebec. The authors take a look at rates on April 1 each year, and a provincial deferred costs report has examined longer-term impacts as well.

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