Grand Forks has approved a measure that will bring the city’s electrical rates up to just below the price that FortisBC charges rural customers. The increase will bring the rates up to 98 per cent of the company the city buys power from.
Sasha Bird, city manager of water, sewer and electrical, said that because Fortis has increased their rates, the city has to keep within that range since it buys from FortisBC.
“We have to deliver that to the customer as well or else we’re going to be losing money,” Bird said, adding that Fortis increased their rates due to upgrades that were needed in its system.
“They have to get funds from somewhere, so they increased their rates and we have to flow that through to our customers,” Bird said, adding that since British Columbia Utilities Commission approved the increases and the city has no control over the increase.
Cecile Arnott, the city’s chief financial officer, said that having the rates at a set percentage will help the city streamline adjustments, whereas before it would have to forecast the rates for the year.
“We would do a forecast of the revenue requirement based on what our consultants would tell us we were buying over the year and then we would only do one annual increase,” Arnott said.
She said because of this, as a ratio to FortisBC, the rates varied and depended on the timing of the billing. Now, when FortisBC rates increase, then the city’s rates will automatically increase as well.
“It’s just to give staff direction to keep rates competitive and not have to go to council and try to forecast what the rates will have to be,” she said.
“There’s more certainty there. Council was getting some feedback that people didn’t like the forecasting part of it.”
Coun. Christine Thompson said that Fortis has increased rates to not just their residential and commercial customers, but to wholesale customers such as the city as well.
“Our cost to buy the power has increased, so the electrical increase that’s being passed on to residents is intended to recoup those additional costs,” Thompson said.