BEGINNING on Monday, April 1, people in B.C. have started saving on their energy bills with the B.C. Electricity Affordability Credit that will provide the average BC Hydro residential customer with savings of $100, says the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation.

BC Hydro customers have been notified of the new saving credit and will start to see the credit applied to their first bill after April 15. The credit will be automatically calculated and divided over their BC Hydro bills during the next 12 months.

There is no need to apply for the credit as it will be applied automatically. Customers with more than one account will receive a credit on each account.

To be eligible for the credit, customers must have an active account as of March 31, 2024.

Nearly all customers will pay less this year than they did last year. The exact credit amount is based on an individual customer’s annual electricity consumption prior to March 31, 2024. For the average household, this will provide savings of approximately $100. Commercial businesses will see a credit of 4.6% – or an average of $400, respectively – to help reduce rising operating costs.

Beginning April 1, as approved by the BC Utilities Commission, electricity bills will increase by 2.3%. However, the B.C. Electricity Affordability Credit announced by the Province in the February 2024 Budget will more than offset this increase.

BC Hydro rates continue to remain among the lowest in North America, and for six consecutive years in a row, BC Hydro has kept rate increases below the rate of inflation.

In total, BC Hydro rates are currently 15.6% lower than the cumulative rate of inflation over the past seven years (starting 2017-18). In addition, rates are currently 12.4% lower than what they would have been under the previous government’s 10 Year Rates Plan.

The credit is also available to customers of non-BC Hydro electricity utilities, including FortisBC and municipal utilities. The Province has entered into agreements with these utilities to ensure their ratepayers receive comparable credits.