Watch: Are BC Hydro salaries justified?

More than 2,600 employees at BC Hydro are raking in more than $100,000 a year.

They also make up more than 45 per cent of the company’s total work force.

That while the company is considering increasing B.C. rates by 26 per cent over the next three years.

Legislative bureau chief Keith Baldrey said on Unfiltered with Jill Krop Thursday night it’s surprising to see positions like “power line technician” making over $120,000 and a “driver/helper” – close to $100,000.

“In this case what is interesting is — you’ve got the executives making a lot of money, but also a lot of unionized positions being paid far higher rates than unionized positions in any other Crown corporation,” says Baldrey.

Get breaking National news

Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won't miss a trending story.

Sign up for breaking National newsletter Get Started

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Baldrey says BC Hydro has always been the problem child for the B.C. Liberal government.

“They have not been able to show any kind of control over that corporation. It is a bloated bureaucracy even though it shed a number of jobs over the years.”

Baldrey says it is not just the high salaries, but the performance bonuses many BC Hydro employees are paid that tick off the taxpayers.

For example, CEO and president Charles Reid was paid more than $530,000 with a $57,240 performance bonus.

“At a time when Hydro is mixed up in a lot of questionable fiscal management, where you have escalating debt, asking for a big rate hike… at the same time you are paying tens of thousands of dollars in bonuses to your executives. I think people scratch their heads at that,” says Baldrey.

BC Hydro has released the following statement to Global News.

“BC Hydro employees work hard every day to keep the lights on. We have to ensure compensation for our front-line workers is competitive – they are in high demand across the country. These are specialized, skilled crews who are required 24 hours a day, seven days a week and often work in difficult conditions.

BC Hydro has made significant progress in reducing operating costs: we have eliminated 800 non-operational roles and are on-track to reduce costs by $390 million over a three-year period. All managers at BC Hydro have had their salaries frozen for three of the last four years and, at the same time, overall executive salaries have decreased by about 20 per cent.”