BC Hydro Customer Crisis Fund extended to help families pay bills
Posted June 22, 2021 10:34 am.
Last Updated June 22, 2021 10:35 am.
VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – A program aimed at helping people who are struggling financially to pay their power bill is being extended.
BC Hydro’s Customer Crisis Fund offers people grants of up to $600 if they’re dealing with a job loss, injury, illness, or loss of a family member, all while facing possible disconnection of service.
The government says more than 11,000 people have taken advantage of this grant over the course of a three-year pilot, which wrapped up last month.
“We recognize there will be times when people may need some financial assistance to catch up on their hydro bill,” said Minister of Energy Bruce Ralston.
“As many families struggle to recover from the impacts and stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic, that time is now,” he added, noting the province hopes this will help prevent disconnections.
The B.C. government has directed the B.C. Utilities Commission to allow BC Hydro to continue the program. It will be temporarily funded by “an existing surplus of approximately $5.9 million” BC Hydro collected by charging households an extra 13 cents a month.”
That additional charge was no longer applied to customers’ bills as of June 1.
