Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings. “As a shareholder, we make a profit every year, and that helps offset taxes for the residents of the city. We live in a 2 bedroom apartment in a 23 year old building. Council, however, held off on approving in-principle a proposed four per cent increase to the electrical utility. Please enter the account # and email address associated with your account and click the "Reset" button. I averaged <$30/month in Vancouver, even through winter. 4 bedroom, single pane windows, electric baseboard heat, electric water, 4 young adults constantly cooking, watching TV, playing videogames, making music = 1200 for two months during the winter. If the city is going to move way from its longtime practice of charging the same rate increases as those charged to BC Hydro customers, he said the city needs to have a fuller discussing about that. COVID-19: New Westminster offers three-month credit on electric bills Meanwhile, Fortis B.C. Hydro’s lead in offering customers experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 a three-month credit on power bills. Hydro and resells it to New Westminster residents and businesses. Heat and hot water are gas, which is why I suspect our electric is so low (the gas bill is no fun in the winter ...). The City of New Westminster is considering a change to its longstanding process for setting electrical utility rates. I think it’s definitely an appropriate request to be getting more fulsome information and options regarding that. Meanwhile, people living in Kelowna and other parts of the Okanagan whose electric provider is Fortis B.C. How to read your Electric meter: Your electric meter measures the amount of electricity passing through our service lines into your property. “The City of New Westminster is committed to supporting our residents and local businesses, and we hope that we can provide some financial relief for those who need it by waiving electric utility-bill payments for the next few months.”. I'm in a 2 bedroom with hot water heat, in-suite laundry, electric stove, etc. “It is a very valuable asset for the city, but with the new substation expansion, with the expansion of the population, there are some costs that are certainly unprecedented in the last couple of decades. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. are all included in my rent. “This issue was raised with council, earlier this year or last year, that this was a discussion that was going to be coming. About 80-90 per cycle in summer for a 1br in an older building. Hydro’s rate increase to be three per cent annually from 2019 to 2023, staff recommended the city adopt increases of four per cent annually for the next five years to offset increased operating expenses and to fund the electric utility capital program. Hydro's lead in offering customers experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 with a three-month credit on power bills. City staff is proposing a change from the way the city normally hikes electric utility rates, in part to help fund some of the city's strategy initiatives including a district energy system and Bridge net, as well as a new Queensborough substation. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. A refundable security deposit is required from each new Commercial customer in the amount of three times an average monthly bill for electrical service at the premise. Because the city can buy electricity at a wholesale price and sell it at a retail price, Johnstone said it’s able to make a significant amount of money from that. “We will be working with people individually (rather) than doing a simple blanket move.”. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. In this proposal, we are talking about raising our electrical rates at a rate that is higher than the proposed increases that BC Hydro is foreseeing for the coming years.”. I live in a one-bedroom, hvae the computer on pretty much 24/7 and toast things under the grill - no toaster. Coun. Usually somewhere in the $100-$140 range (higher in the colder months). We aren't particularly careful with electricity usage. The standard billable unit of electricity is a … tap here to see other videos from our team. He said most of that money goes toward the operation of the utility, so it continues to operate and to be sustainable. Wait until you go away for 2 weeks and it makes no difference on your usage. “But we do also take a dividend,” he added. My computer/hard drive array are basically always on. The city’s electrical utility buys electricity from B.C. There was an error, please provide a valid email address. isn’t offering a credit but says it will work with its 165,000 residential and business customers to create an interest-free repayment schedule on the three-month deferral. Installation of cables are part of the BridgeNet Dark Fibre network - just one of the initiatives of the New Westminster Electrical Utility. election. 88 new COVID-19 cases reported in New Westminster health delivery area this week. Mary Trentadue supported getting more information about what’s being proposed from staff. Join the mailing list to receive daily email updates. I know the utilities commission has spent more time discussing this particular issue.”, Instead of approving the electric utility rate increases with the other increases, council supported Johnstone’s motion to have staff report back to council with more options for rate increases to the five year plan, including an option that pegs the city’s rates to the expected BC Hydro rates. Cookies help us deliver our Services. Building is about 27 years old. 1bdrm in an old building with shitty windows but hot water/heat are included in rent. To calculate electricity rates in New Brunswick, we used the average urban residential rates published by NB Power and Saint John Energy . While the city is anticipating B.C. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. In New West, I was paying $70/month in winter, and so far $40/month in spring/summer, There's something wrong with the rates in this town :/. We have fans running all the time for our pets though. New Westminster, the only Metro Vancouver municipality with its own electrical utility, is followingB.C. While the city is anticipating B.C. Your support is vital to helping us provide free local news. “We recognize this is a very challenging time for many families and businesses in our community as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mayor Jonathan Coté. Companies that have closed their doors or ceased operations after March 15 can also waive their bills for three months. my 1 bedroom is about $50/ 2 month. New Westminster COVID-19 numbers jumped 68% in September. 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4. Sobre; Alunos; Na mídia; Nossos cursos; Método; Material de apoio didático; Contato; Login 1 bed, live alone, not really careful with power. You can, These New Westminster rentals now top-10 highest in Canada, UPDATE: Here's where you could be able to buy cannabis in New West, Here are the candidates for all 4 Burnaby ridings in the B.C. Coun. The city is also allowing all customers to defer bill payments or arrange for a flexible payment plan. So I think this is a reasonable way of assisting in those costs.”. Fortis B.C. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. In New West, I was paying $70/month in winter, and so far $40/month in spring/summer. The electricity consumed from Westminster is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). Our bill has been steadily increasing over the last few years and I'm not sure why. He’s confident that when staff report back to council with an analysis of what driving the proposed rate hikes, the “right” decision will prevail. When entering your account number, do not include any zeros at the front of your account number or the last two numbers after the dash (-) Example: Account Number 00001234-01 … We encountered an issue signing you up. March 11, 2019. Patrick Johnstone said the city’s longstanding practice has been to charge electrical rates in New Westminster that are the same that customers in Burnaby, Coquitlam or other communities would get from BC Hydro. Chuck Puchmayr didn’t oppose referring the issue to staff for a report, but was comfortable with the staff recommendation because there are some “huge costs” down the road for the electrical utility. So it appears that the cost per kWh has gone up significantly. Meanwhile, Fortis B.C. Press J to jump to the feed. “I guess I am concerned about the level of transparency in how we explain to the community why the rates are different, when that is what they have come to expect,” she said. October 10, 2020. Hydro, and infrastructure replacement, said a staff report. The city’s electrical utility buys electricity from B.C. “The rates don’t normally change until April so there’s lots of time to come back and provide the report you are looking for with some other options,” said Colleen Ponzini, the city’s acting chief financial officer. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Coun. Johnstone said he recognizes the city has “some significant capital costs” to deal with in the coming years, including building a new substation and rising costs of maintaining the utility. Mine is usually 60-70 bi-monthly except during the summer when I run a portable AC unit. Jaimie McEvoy said he wants the city’s approach is to focus on ensuring it creates a “strong and healthy” utility that has the necessary capital infrastructure that will be needed in the future. Glacier Community Media © Copyright ® 2013 -, Have The Record delivered to your inbox twice a week! The three-month credit is available to all eligible residential customers in New West who have been laid off, unable to work or have closed their businesses. at highest level since April, Green platform tackles health, environmental and equality crises, NDP candidate promises free bus service for Queensborough students to NWSS. The utilities budgets included in the draft five-year financial plan are based on projections using best estimates of future events that may affect the budget, such as annual wage increments, increased fees charged by Metro Vancouver and B.C. [ 1] This average (commercial) electricity rate in Westminster is 1.56% less than the South Carolina average rate of 9.63¢/kWh. The average residential cost of electricity in New Brunswick is $0.127 per kWh, or $127 per month, assuming an average monthly usage of 1,000 kWh. Coun. On Monday, council approved in-principle rate adjustments for the water, sewer and solid waste utilities. [ 2] The average (commercial) electricity rate in Westminster is 6.05% less … Seems outrageously high to me, since we cook with gas, rarely use the oven or baseboard heating and have energy efficient lighting everywhere. If you don't see it please check your junk folder. October 9, 2020 “This would be a departure from the city’s past practice in terms of rate setting for the electrical utility,” said Mayor Jonathan Cote. I dunno, feels high to me... We don't do anything too crazy with power - but since moving to new west I've been a little wtf about the power bill as well. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited. $70. “I would never want to lose this utility,” he said. I just moved to New West from Vancouver, from a 30 year old studio to a 2 year old studio (which is smaller, and should be more energy efficient, obviously) I averaged <$30/month in Vancouver, even through winter.