by Timothy Schafer
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Nelson Daily
Nelson Hydro customers won’t be left out of the mix when it comes to the provincial electricity affordability credit.
This month the province began offering the B.C. Electricity Affordability Credit that will be applied to bills until March 31, 2025.
Based on 4.6 per cent of a person’s electricity consumption — from Jan. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2023 — the credit was announced that it could save around $100 for the average B.C. Hydro residential customer.
A comparable credit is available to customers of non-B.C. Hydro electricity utilities, including FortisBC and Nelson Hydro, but the credit will be applied differently for each.
Nelson Hydro customers who had an active account as of Dec. 31, 2023, are eligible for the credit. The credit will be applied to Nelson Hydro customers’ bills as a one-time payment on their next electricity bill after April 15, 2024.
For Fortis BC customers, the new saving credit will start to be applied to the first bill after April 15, with the credit automatically calculated and divided over the hydro bills during the next 12 months.
Correction, May 3: This article stated that the credit would be applied in the same way to customers of BC Hydro, Fortis BC and Nelson Hydro. That information, along with other information that was BC Hydro-specific, has been deleted and paragraph five and six added.