Has Anyone elses BC Hydro bill gone up?
 

just wondering because after getting a letter in the mail saying bc hydro
was going to install a smart meter, my bill went from 20 dollars a month...
to a 100... :heckno:

i don't waste energy, and am pretty good with turning things off when i go to
bed. i've also read a lot of articles where other people are in the same situation.

has anybody had the same problem here and have been able to rectify it?

thanks in advance :)

I am sure that you know that BC has had very low hydro rates for years compared to the rest of the world. We the tax payer invested in damns and clean energy but now it seems that the BC Hydro's CEO looking to make profits and reduce theft but replacing old meters to smart ones.

Higher profits means higher bonuses at the end of the year.

Check your meter readings to see if there were any errors. Changing to a smart meter actually will make your meter readings more accurate as BC Hydro won't need to send a meter reader to your house to get a reading and you shouldn't get as many estimated reads.

That drastic of a change sounds like a mistake.

I had that happen one month and Hydro adjusted it for me. They should be able to do that for you, given your usage hasn't changed.

My bill went up... because it's fucking winter and we're an end unit with electric heat.

Had a renter who's bill went way up. Called up hydro and found out it was a mistake and got the bill changed.

Are you able to compare this month's bill to last year's?

Just run a mini nuke plant inside to keep you warm.

my bill went up like 5-10 bux every 2 months.

Smart meters are a scam, don't buy that b.s they're spitting about it being a more efficient means.
All they do is allow BC hydro to tell when the peak hours of energy use in your home is. They will then start charging a premium for those peak times.
Not to mention the close to a billion dollars of taxpayers money to have them manufactured and installed, which none of us as taxpayers got to even vote or debate on. These clowns in power making decisions for the rest of us, to line their filthy pockets with more cash and bonuses at the end of the year, makes me sick. While we all struggle, they get more paid vacations.
Also fuck the bicycle lanes! Something else the public did not get to vote on.
Daily, i'm in traffic jams downtown, while at best 1 or 2 people are using these ridiculous bike lanes. Also, if translink wants to raise money for their new projects, start charging the people that actually use their fucking services. Dont be adding toll bridges to commuters that already have to live in the suburbs and take 1-2 hours to get to work, because they can't afford to live in the city.
The amount of shit people in the lower mainland have to pay at a premium compared to the rest of the world is disgusting.
We pay 1.40 a litre of gas, when our neighbours in Alberta are pumping this shit out. In Venezuela, an oil exporting country, the people pay 5cents a litre!
Down with Harper and his clowns, we need our own Hugo Chavez!

The revolution will not be televised.

Also the hundreds of millions of dollars that went to making the new BC Place stadium roof, can you say WASTE OF FUCKING MONEY.
This money should be going into education, we should be investing into our kids. Hundreds of millions of dollars for a new roof, and teachers are about to go on strike starting next week?
People in power need to get their priorities straight, the cost of living here doesn't have to be the most expensive in North America, if these clowns would stop bending us over and raping us without lube.

Did you get a new box? I just was watching the news and there are a bunch of complaints about hydro bills doubling and tripling since the new box was installed. One couple winter in the US and don't use their house in the Winter and came home to an 800.00 bill.

They haven't implemented peak hour billing already have they?

Mine goes down next month.

According to my bills, I used less power this year than last year but I don't know how really. I'm working from home now at night so I'm always home with ALL my lights on all night. My roommate also leaves his TV on a lot.

Maybe no longer having a desktop PC made a sig. difference. I dunno.

PS: Finally got my Smart Meter.

This.

Many of the people who are experiencing increased bills were actually being underbilled before because there old meters were not reading or tracking usage correctly. The new meters are super accurate so if your old meter was not working correctly you could see a bit of a spike with the new one. This isn't the cause of rate fluctuation in every case but in a lot of them.

No, they haven't, and they've repeatedly stated there are no plans to. Keep in mind that doing so would have to go through the BC Utilities Commission, and you WILL hear about it when it happens.

BTW, just checked my bill last night... it's gone down as well. I had automatic payments set up with my bank based on previous usage, and right now I have a $38 credit because my bill was lower.

Out of curiosity, would they retroactively bill back those who were previously under-billed? I'm not sure if it's possible to determine for how long and by how much they were under billed by
Posted via RS Mobile

Yeah mine went from about $12/month in summer (baseline without heat) to $38 when the smart meter came into effect for my december bill. Last year the dec. bill was only $24....

Yes they can. They check the meters and record the amount used. They were underbilled simply because BChydro hasn't been checking. Sometimes they just guess. If you're on a equal payment plan, your bill is always the same...until the day they decide you need to catch up, which could be lower or higher or the same.

mine went from 80 last bill to 300 and the apartment is only 1.5yrs old. They said either pay what "seems right" and wait until next time they come to read the meter or pay in full and get credited back. Such bs...
Posted via RS Mobile

Happen last year to my house. The bill went up by like $100 so we call BC Hydro. The lady on the line was shock since she said our usage was way way out of nomral and she just said it mostly the person reading the meter got it wrong and weave that bill for us......

Scan your bill, white out your address and name, and post it here.

Anything else is just bull shitting and speculating.

The bill you receive has all the info you need. There's a section on the left in yellow shaded area - look for "Daily Average Comparison". In there. they have the kWh average for the month this year and the kWh average for same month last year.


If you're really concerned, check the "Next Meter Reading" date in same yellow shaded area. Go outside and write down the number on or near that date.

BC Hydro - What BC Hydro's new meters display

I haven't had to do that yet as it looks like the amount I owe this month has stayed the same as last year.


In the link I provided, it states that in the "Future", BC Hydro customers will have access to their meter readings for a more detailed account of one's power usage. Damn rights they better. If the smart meters are accurate and more convenient, then it should be same for the customer. If there's anything I would fight for, it is exactly that - the ability to check the meter from my computer and have the ability to track it down to the last milliwatt, LOL. Frugal Asian that I am.

Someones gotta pay for that new technology and it sure as fuck ain't gonna be me.

^Why, are you generating your own power?

Of course I've got a mini nuke plant going since the EPA raised safe radiation levels anywhere from 10,000-to 100,000 times. You'd be a fool not to have one.

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