The city is working to ensure New Westminster electric utility customers can access some of the same program offerings provided by BC Hydro.
At its Nov. 4 meeting, council considered a motion from Coun. Daneil Fontaine aimed at providing equity in the delivery of energy savings programs for New West electric customers. The motion stated that New West electric utility customers are not currently eligible for the BC Hydro solar panel and battery storage program.
Fontaine said his motion came about as a result of an inquiry from a citizen
“I wasn't aware that we didn't have alignment between BC Hydro and our own electrical utility when it comes to providing some offsets for our local residents to install solar panels and to look at getting assistance on battery storage,” he said. “It got me thinking that this is a very good program that BC Hydro has in place. And just by the fact that your address says New Westminster, you're currently not eligible for it.”
As of July 2024, BC Hydro has been offering rebates of up to $5,000 on eligible grid-connected solar panels and up to an additional $5,000 for battery storage systems to qualifying residential customers. The BC Hydro website said its residential customers can install solar panels or a battery – or both to maximize the value of their project and their rebate.
“Rebates for self-generation are one of the ways we're helping meet the province's growing need for renewable electricity and providing you with more options for managing your energy use,” said BC Hydro’s website.
Fontaine’s motion also stated that New Westminster Electric Utility customers are not eligible to participate in BC Hydro’s demand response and Peak Saver programs.
(BC Hydro allows its customers to join Peak Saver to earn money back on their BC Hydro bill for using less electricity during brief times of high demand, called peak events. Its website said this program rewards customers for being flexible about their energy use, which helps BC Hydro manage demand on its system.)
Fontaine’s motion was for council to direct staff to report back as to how the city could systemically provide better alignment regarding program offerings between BC Hydo and the City of New Westminster. It also recommended that staff be directed to report back on the cost and feasibility of establishing the city’s own hydro solar panel and battery storage program and/or a partnership with BC. Hydro to offer the program to electrical utility users in New West.
“This … would request that staff come back, hopefully as soon as possible, to determine whether or not we can get some alignment with BC Hydro,” he said. “Our local residents in New Westminster cannot apply to BC Hydro for this because they are not BC Hydro customers. The program itself is funded through BC Hydro customers; that's why we're not eligible.”
Fontaine said he hoped council would support the motion, given its strategic goals and Bold Steps on Climate Action, which include a focus on reducing carbon emissions and allowing people to do something personally and locally to reduce their carbon footprint. He said this initiative could provide some financial relief to local residents who may consider solar panels as a potential opportunity for energy generation.
Mayor Patrick Johnstone, a member of the utility commission, said the commission had a report on this issue at its last meeting. (The Sept. 3 agenda included a verbal presentation from staff about deepening the city’s partnerships with BC Hydro on program delivery.)
“We had a report on specifically on the battery/solar project,” he told council at Monday night’s meeting. “Staff is working on this, have already coordinated with BC Hydro, and are already working on a better integration of our systems.”
Johnstone, Coun. Paul Minhas and chief administrative officer Lisa Spitale are among the commissioners on the New Westminster Utility Commission, which oversees the electric utility.
“They are currently working on it,” Spitale said about the solar panel and battery storage program. “And so, the expectation is, when there is something tangible through their discussions with Hydro, that they'll report back. And then we can, in turn, provide all of council with some information at the same time. That said, staff's work on this isn't looking at the rebate portion of this, which is actually something distinct with this motion.”
Johnstone suggested council refer Fontaine’s motion to the utility commission.
“If we refer this back to the electrical commission, they will be able to take this and provide the feedback to council that council is requesting here ... I don't want us to do parallel processes; I think it just simplifies it,” he said. “It doesn't make it go away. This is not referring something to make it go away; this is referring something to make sure that the reporting path that comes back to us actually represents what's being asked for in the motion.”
Council unanimously supported referring the issue to the utility commission.
Levy funding
The City of New Westminster’s climate action levy once again made its way into discussions about electricity at the council table.
Coun. Tasha Henderson said these kinds of rebate programs offered by the city are provided through the Energy Save New West program.
“The Energy Save New West program is funded through the climate levy that's applied through the electrical utility,” she said. “It seems counter-intuitive to suggest increasing programming under Energy Save New West while also advocating for the elimination of the funding source for those programs. We can't have it both ways.”
If council members are interested in increasing the scope of what the City of New Westminster can offer through Energy Save New West, Henderson believes they should also support the maintenance of that climate levy.
In October, council voted down Fontaine’s motion to eliminate the 3.5 per cent climate action levy from the New Westminster Electrical Utility for one year. He put forward a similar motion in December 2023, which proposed amending the electric utility bylaw to remove the 3.5 per cent climate action levy from the electric utility bill. (That motion was also defeated.)
Responding to Henderson’s comments, Fontaine said: “Yes, you actually can have it both ways in this case.”
At Monday’s meeting, he said the City of New Westminster has $40 million in its climate action reserve fund.
“We're accumulating lots of money in the bank, but we're not actually putting it to work,” he said. “So, this motion actually speaks to unlocking some of those dollars in that bank account and actually putting it to good use.”
Fontaine said his most recent motion related to the climate action levy called for a temporary removal of the levy from customers’ electrical bills for 12 months.
