JUSTINE HUNTER, Globe and Mail, May 20, 2012

VICTORIA — Newcomers to British Columbia’s natural-gas sector may be denied access to BC Hydro’s electricity services as the province looks to curb costs for Hydro’s current customers.

Geoff Plant, The Plant Rant, Feb 22, 2012

The usual job of a utilities commission is to protect consumers from high prices that might otherwise be charged by monopoly service providers. The utility asks for an X% increase, and the regulator gives it something less. So it was more than a little interesting when the BC Utilities Commission decided last week to increase electricity rates by nearly twice as much as BC Hydro had asked for (7.1% instead of 3.9%).

News Release, BC Hydro, February 15, 2012

Media Release, COPE 378, November 9, 2011

Energy, public policy experts urge government action to save BC Hydro

By Vaughn Palmer, Vancouver Sun, August 12, 2011

Utility can likely get by with fewer dollars now, but province will be vulnerable unless spending is restored in the longer term

Government of BC, August 11, 2011

VICTORIA - Energy and Mines Minister Rich Coleman and BC Hydro CEO Dave Cobb announced the Crown corporation intends to file a 50 per cent reduction to its rate increases over the next three years.

By Derrick Penner, Vancouver Sun, August 11, 2011

The provincial panel reviewing BC Hydro’s rates is recommending changes that will cut the increase the utility is seeking by about half by reducing staff, deferring capital projects and changing the way it sends capital projects out to bid.

By Jesse Ferreras, Pique Newsmagazine, April 11, 2011

Minister Rich Coleman aims to ‘reduce impact’ of rates on B.C. families

B.C.'s Energy Minister has appointed a three-person panel to review of hydro rate increases.

The move comes just under a week after minister Rich Coleman said he'd have the terms of reference ready.

Stephanie Taylor & George Hoberg, Green Policy Prof, March 1, 2011

Electricity pricing in BC is a concept that is little understood, yet frequently the subject of grumbling by ratepayers, especially when rates are going up. Recent proposals by BC Hydro to raise rates by 50% over the next five years have been criticized by media and energy experts. In our last post on electricity pricing, we outlined current and alternative rate-setting mechanisms. We also introduced readers to the concept of conservation pricing. This post delves further into conservation pricing, exploring both its benefits and its drawbacks.

Marvin Shaffer, CCPA Policy Notes, February 23, 2011

Stephanie Taylor & George Hoberg, Green Policy Prof, February 17, 2011

In the midst of a spending blitz, BC Hydro has applied to the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) to increase residential electricity rates by an estimated 10% per year over the next three years. BC Hydro, which announced the rate changes on December 2, 2010 expects the increase to take effect in April 2011, assuming BCUC approval. The news release explains that the Crown Corporation is investing $6 billion over three years to provide essential upgrades to aging transmission and generation facilities, add significant new transmission capacity, increase capacity at the Mica and Revelstoke dams, and install smart meters in every household.

Scott Simpson, Vancouver Sun, January 30, 2010

BC Hydro's industrial customers are bracing for a high-voltage "rate shock" in a few weeks when the Crown corporation proposes its electricity rates for the coming fiscal year.