Use a heat pump or electric vehicle in B.C.? You might want to change how you get charged for power use

Andrew Kurjata · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 01, 2025 1:37 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

People who usage electrical heating oregon complaint electrical vehicles astatine location person a caller mode to prevention wealth connected their monthly bills, according to B.C. Hydro.

Customers tin present use to wage a level complaint for each of their energy use, alternatively than the existent default of paying little for little energy depletion and much erstwhile usage increases.

The caller strategy is meant to payment households with higher energy costs, specified arsenic those that person baseboard heating, heat pumps, aggregate families successful a azygous home, or electrical conveyance charging. Those households tin expect an average yearly savings of an estimated $60 a year, the powerfulness supplier said.

It besides said the new, optional complaint on with previously-introduced time-of-day pricing should trim the obstruction to radical switching implicit to electrical vehicles oregon electrical heating.

How energy pricing works

Power consumption, and electrical bills, are calculated utilizing kilowatt-hours (kWh), the astir communal billing portion for vigor delivered to consumers.

To cipher kilowatt-hours, instrumentality the wattage of immoderate household appliance, multiply that by however galore hours you deliberation it's utilized and disagreement that by 1,000.

So if you usage a 100-watt airy bulb for 10 hours, you've utilized 1 kWh of electricity. 

How does it use to B.C. Hydro billing?

Currently, B.C. Hydro charges customers 11.72 cents per kWh for the archetypal 675 kWh utilized successful an mean 30-day billing period.

If the 675 kWh threshold is passed, each further energy usage is charged astatine a complaint of 14.08 cents kWh.

So, leaving that airy bulb connected for 10 hours costs 11.72 cents until you walk the threshold, astatine which constituent it volition outgo 14.08 cents.

Under the level complaint strategy each electricity, careless of however overmuch is used, would cost 12.63 cents per kWh.

Customers tin besides adhd an optional time-of-day pricing, which adds a 5 cent per kWh discount to energy utilized during off-peak hours (11 p.m. to 7 a.m. section time) and a 5 cents per kWh surcharge during highest hours (4 p.m. to 9 p.m. section time).

How to motion up

B.C. Hydro is offering an online instrumentality that analyzes past energy usage and calculates your costs nether the caller program connected their website. Those who privation to bash truthful tin besides opt successful to the time-of-day pricing complaint online by logging successful to their B.C. Hydro account.

The caller program is lone disposable to residential customers who person their ain electrical strategy and is not recommended for customers successful flat oregon condo buildings.

More accusation astir the program and eligibility tin beryllium recovered connected the B.C. Hydro website.