BC Hydro announced it will decrease its proposed rate increases by 50%, following the release of a government review that urges the Crown corporation to cut spending by $800 million over the next three years.
In March, BC Hydro filed application with the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) for approval of a 30% rate increases (9.73% per year over three years).
In response to public concern over the proposed rate hikes, the provincial government requested a review of the Crown corporation.
The review, released yesterday, honed in on a number of opportunities for BC Hydro to slash spending, noting, for example, that the Crown corporation’s staff swelled by 41% – to 5,615 employees from 3,976 – between 2006 and 2010.
“The panel believes that a more reasonable staffing level would be in the order of 4,800 employees,” the report’s executive summary notes.
Following the release of the review, BC Hydro CEO Dave Cobbs announced that BC Hydro will fully implement the panel’s recommendations, as well as further cost-savings measures to decrease expenditures by more than $800 million over three years.
Cobbs said BC Hydro will ask BCUC to approve revised rate increases of 8%, 3.9% and 3.9% over the next thee years.
Jenny Wagler
Twitter: JennyWagler_BIV