On April 14, 2015, we had a conference call with the BC Minister of Energy concerning the two-tier Residential Conservation Rate (RCR). During that call, we maintained that the RCR, as structured, discriminates against residents who rely entirely on electricity for space and water heating. We showed him how, in essence, the RCR “taxes” these residents and then uses the resulting revenue to subsidize electricity rates for customers who do not use electricity for such purposes (primarily because they have access to natural gas).

On May 26, 2015, Minister Bennett responded with a letter (Click to view: Letter from Minister May 26, 2015) that defended the RCR. He states that “Fortis’ RCR review report found that most electrically-heated homes see lower overall bills under the RCR” and that “the typical home with a heat pump and the typical home without access to gas use less than 20,000 kWh per year and as a result, see minimal impacts as a result of the RCR”.

It is our contention that officials at the BC Ministry of Energy have misinterpreted Fortis’ report and that these statements are not accurate. Please help us establish the true facts by filling in the following data request. Note that we are only asking for your first name or “anon” if you prefer to ensure complete anonymity. Once we have obtained a sufficient number of responses, we will consolidate the data and prepare a response to the Minister.

Nick Marty & Mark McKenny

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