Dear Editor:
While reviewing my current electricity consumption graphs on the B.C. Hydro website, it struck me that in a 60-day billing cycle, I hit the Step 2 threshold after only 18 days due to the cold weather at the start of December. From that point on, I could have kept my house at 10 C and would still be charged at the Step 2 rate.
In the billing period ending in October, the Step 2 threshold kicked in for only a few days. The difference had nothing to do with my commitment to conserve energy, but with the fact the weather turned cold and I had to use my heat pump to keep from freezing.
The electrical consumer should not be gouged just because it turned cold. My previous house had a natural-gas furnace, and while I expected an increase in winter, at least it was not a logarithmic increase.
The Step 2 structure that B.C. Hydro states is to encourage conservation simply gouges those who thought they were doing an environmentally friendly thing by moving away from a hydrocarbon heat source. If the B.C. government really wants to encourage the move away from hydrocarbons, it needs to force B.C. Hydro either to remove the Step 2 rate and replace it with a single rate, or provide energy rebates to those using approved heating (and cooling) systems.
Otherwise, my only hope is that global warming will accelerate so I will not need to use any heat source in winter at all.
Dan Nicoud
Victoria, BC
Reprinted from TIMES COLONIST
