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BC HYDRO BILLS

BC Hydro electricity bill deferrals extended for industries impacted by pandemic

Jun 20, 2020 | 12:59 PM

VICTORIA — The B.C Government and B.C Hydro have extended an opportunity for companies to defer their electricity bill payments for another three months.

As part of the B.C Hydro COVID-19 Relief Program, eligible industrial companies had a chance to defer 50 per cent of their electric bill payments for the March-May billing period.

In a release from the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources today (June 20), the province says the move will continue to provide support for B.C’s mining, forestry, and other industries hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The payment program can continue until the end of August of 2020, but the deferred amounts are subject to interest, and will be repaid over a nine-month period in the future.

The province says the program was created to protect industry jobs within communities, and support a return to normal operations.

“Extending the deferral of BC Hydro payments builds on other measures – such as the deferral of stumpage fees – we’ve taken to address the specific COVID-19 related challenges industry has raised in our discussions,” says Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. “Extending the deferral of BC Hydro payments may allow some companies to resume operations sooner rather than later when we get through the situation we’re in now, or it may keep others running without disruption.”

Several industries with accounts in BC Hydro’s transmission rate category use significant amounts of energy- representing about 25 per cent of Hydro’s domestic electricity amount in B.C. The deferral program helps to retain load and revenues that, if lost, would negatively impact all BC Hydro ratepayers.

The province notes that the B.C. COVID-19 Action Plan dedicates $5 billion to support people, businesses and essential services. This includes:

– $1.7 billion for investments in critical services

– $1.8 billion in financial support for individuals and businesses

– $1.5 billion to plan for economic recovery

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