Energy Minister Bill Bennett says British Columbians should prepare themselves for BC Hydro rate increases.
Bennett says nobody should be surprised to learn that the Crown corporation is facing cost pressures and power rates will need to go up. What he doesn’t say is how much the rates will increase or when.
According to Bennett, British Columbians currently pay the fourth lowest power rates in North America, but major infrastructure projects, that include costly power dam refits, are putting upward pressure on rates.
In 2011, the B.C. government rejected a proposed rate increase of up to 50 per cent over five years and instead announced a review of hydro.
