Opponents declare victory as Fortis moves to scrap two tier rate system

It’s an example of the “power” of community activism.

A small but vocal group of rural FortisBC customers in the south Okanagan say it’s a step towards victory as the power utility moves to scrap its controversial two-tier rate system.

The system saw some power bills go through the roof.

Anarchist Mountain resident Nick Marty’s power bill over a two-month period last winter was more than $1,100.

“I calculated that $250 of that was a result of the two-tier system,” Marty said on Friday.

That two-tier system was implemented by FortisBC in 2012.

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Its intent is to incentivize energy conservation by providing a lower rate for using less power– but once customers break a certain threshold of consumption– the rate goes up.

“It’s really been a benefit to about 70 per cent of our customers but the other 30 per cent do see higher bills,” said Fortis BC spokesperson Nicole Bogdanovic.

Nick Marty and Mark Mckenney are vocal opponents of the two-tier system.

They say it’s unfair– and discriminatory to rural residents.

“If you don’t have access to natural gas where you can reduce your costs for heating, you are hooped,” said Mckenney, who is the president of the Anarchist Mountain Community Society.

The power utility admits the system creates inequity among customers.

FortisBC is now moving to phase out the two-tier rate over five years.

“What we found through our rate review is people who had the capacity to conserve energy did and other people do have high energy needs and may not have the same opportunities to conserve,” Bogdanovic said.

Marty, a retired federal energy expert, says the two-tier rate should be wiped out “immediately, because the two-tier system is price discriminating against customers that use electricity for space and water heating.”

The change means 70 per cent of Fortis customers will see a slight increase on their bills.

“By phasing in the rate over five years it mitigates the impact to those customers who have benefited from the savings over the years,” Bogdanovic said.

The rate change proposal will go before the B.C. Utilities Commission with a decision expected by the end of 2018 and implementation in early 2019.