BC Hydro plans to cut proposed rate increases in half

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Your electricity bill won’t be going up as much as first thought but plenty of jobs are going to be cut at BC Hydro.

Hydro was planning to  hike our power rates by 30 per cent over the next three years, about $7 more per month, but after a probing review it now says it will cut that in half.

“Outside of the next three years, there’s some more things that we can do — that we have to do — with regards to Hydro,” says Energy Minister Rich Coleman. “It’s a big job.”

But review panel member Cheryl Wenezenki-Yolland says they think 1,000 full-time jobs could be cut to help find $800 million in savings. “We are not talking front-line operational staff; we are talking about staff that are fulfilling HR functions, communications, finance functions, engineers… they have a huge complement of engineers.”

BC Hydro CEO Dave Cobb says they have to reduce costs. “If reducing our staff complement will result in that, then that’s something we will look at.”

The review panel says Hydro is full of duplication and needs to do a better job of reining in costs.

NDP Energy Critic John Horgan says the review panel seemed to ignore a program dear to the BC Liberals, when recommending cuts at Hydro.

“They barely touched upon the Smart Meter Program. There are billions and billions of dollars being   invested, that ratepayers are going to have to pick up,” he says. “Instead of looking at those big ticket items, instead the corportation is going to be cutting around the edges.”

He adds Hydro spends too much money on what he calls ‘overpriced’ private power.

Gwenne Farrell with the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union says she is not pleased with the proposed cuts. “When you listen to Christy Clark, and her family first agenda, for the government to come out and recommend that 1,000 families lose jobs, I find that pretty appalling.”

Farrell says the province should be trying to find savings in the contracts it signs with independent power producers.

Jordan Bateman with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says this is a good start.

“I know that already the union is out there opposing this, and even some of the senior executives,” he notes. “But I do think Hydro does need to take a long hard look at themselves, and weigh these recommendations very carefully, and do whatever they can to bring these cost increases down.”

He says 16 per cent is still much greater than the rate of inflation right now, and there’s more work to be done.

Former board member reacts

SFU professor Marjorie Griffin Cohen, who once sat on the BC Hydro board, says the government is trying to cover up the disastrous directives it has given to Hydro over the years.

She says the government is hypocritical to criticize Hydro when it instructed the Crown corportation to privatize its administration and new electricity projects.

“This is a scandal, what has happened,” she says “Taking a very well run corporation and running it into the ground.”

She says the review doesn’t take into account the Smart Meter Program, which will cost the corporation another billion dollars.