Will New Westminster Electric Utility customers get the rebate that BC Hydro is providing to its customers?
That’s a question posed by Coun. Daniel Fontaine during the City of New Westminster’s most recent budget discussion.
On Feb. 22, the B.C. government announced that eligible BC Hydro customers will receive an “electricity affordability credit” to help reduce their electricity costs over the next year.
According to BC Hydro, the credit amount will vary, based on an individual customer's annual electricity consumption. For residential customers, the credit amount will be automatically calculated based on their electricity consumption over the past year.
“For the average residential customer, this will be around $100 in savings,” said BC Hydro’s website. “The credit amount will be applied to your bills over the next 12 months starting on your first bill after April 1, 2024. The credit will appear as a line item in your bill details once it's been applied.”
On Feb. 26, city council gave three readings to the 2024 to 2028 five-year financial plan bylaw.
Fontaine, who voted against the budget, questioned if New Westminster utility users would be getting the same rebate being given to BC Hydro customers.
“Is this something that is automatically passed through BC Hydro to New West utility users or do we have to apply for it?” he said. “I'm not sure where that fits within this budget, this current operating budget.”
The City of New Westminster Electric Utility has an electrical supply agreement with B.C. Hydro. The city buys electricity at a wholesale cost from BC Hydro and sells it to municipal customers.
Shehzad Somji, the city’s director of finance, said this rebate to the residents is not included in the 2024 budget because it is an emerging item.
“It's just fairly new,” he said. “But our understanding is, and I think there's still some further clarification to come, that the rebate will be passed on to the city through BC Hydro and the province, to be rebated back to residents.”
Stay tuned for updates when additional details are announced.
