Lens on Poverty in BC: Pay Hydro or Go Hungry

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By Andrew MacLeod, 30 May 2016, TheTyee.ca

Poorest rate payers plead for relief but ministry and corporation say no.

People living on low incomes cut back on buying food and other essentials so they can pay their electricity bills, according to testimony submitted to the British Columbia Utilities Commission as part of an ongoing hearing on BC Hydro rates.

"After I pay my rent, I have $110 per month to spend on other expenses," said Curtis Barton, a 57-year-old First Nations man living in Prince Rupert. "I have to choose between utilities and food. I have given up other expenses, including gas heating and internet in my home, and owning a car."

Christopher Shay, a 43-year-old man who lives in Coquitlam and has been deaf since birth, said he foregoes other essentials so he can pay his BC Hydro. "I do not have enough money left over each month to feed myself a healthy diet," he said. "I am six feet tall and I am often hungry."

The statements were included in a 341-page document the B.C. Public Interest Advocacy Centre filed May 9 with the BCUC on behalf of seven anti-poverty and seniors' groups as part of BC Hydro's ongoing rate-design review in front of the utilities commission.

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Both the minister responsible, Bill Bennett, and BC Hydro president and CEO Jessica McDonald have told The Tyee that when it comes to affordability B.C. already has the third lowest rates for electricity in North America.

"Our view is the rates being the third lowest in North America are already affordable," Bennett said in a February interview. "How low do they need to be before someone says they're affordable? If you factor in inflation, people are paying the same thing for electricity in 2016 that they were paying in the 1990s. That sounds affordable to me."

Link: http://thetyee.ca/News/2016/05/30/Lens-on-Poverty-BC/