Some of our image-laden pages may load more slowly depending on your internet service. Patience if they don't display immediately. You'll be glad you waited.

South Okanagan Photos

A single flat rate is 5 years off

FortisBC electric rates will be changing on July 1 as part of a five-year process to gradually phase-in a single flat rate for residential customers and make other changes related to how rates are structured. Earlier this year, the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) approved these changes as part of FortisBC’s rate design application.“As we went through the rate design process, we facilitated an open dialogue with our customers to gain insight as to what their needs were in relation to how our rates are structured,” said Diane Roy, vice president,  regulatory affairs, FortisBC. “This first phase towards a single residential rate is based on that input.”

For residential customers, the phase-in period will include gradually reducing the higher tier rate and increasing the lower tier rate until a single, flat rate is established by 2023. During this first implementation phase, the higher tier will decrease from 15.617 to 14.915 cents per kilowatt-hour and the lower tier will increase from 10.117 to 10.394 cents per kilowatt-hour. The customer charge will be changing from $16.04 to $16.58 per month. Changes to individual bills will vary based on use.

Commercial customers will also see changes as FortisBC received approval to phase-out the declining block commercial rate and establish a single rate by 2021. For these customers, this will reduce both the higher and lower tiered energy charges, while also reducing the difference between the two rates. The demand charges and customer charges will also change. The first phase of these changes will also begin on July 1, 2019.

These changes are revenue neutral for FortisBC. Periodically, utilities like FortisBC complete a comprehensive rate design process to review how rates are structured to make sure costs are allocated fairly across rate classes. The July 1 rate changes will put in place the new rate structures that were approved as part of that review. That means that while individual components of rates are changing, the overall revenue FortisBC collects from customers remains the same.