Greenwood City Foods FRESH FRUIT, VEGETABLES AND MEAT
250-445-6548 $
1.10
Times THE BOUNDARY CREEK
Thursday, MARCH 19, 2015
Includes tax
Bob Bugeaud 250-449-1982
bordercountrybob.ca
VOL. 33 Number 12
VILLAGE COUNCIL
EDITORIAL
SPORTS
Landfill tipping fees are increasing, Councillor Marguerite Rotvold warns Village of Midway council.
The government should allow road rescue to provide flagging services until Highways flaggers arrive on scene. P
The 59th annual Midway Men’s Bonspiel has come to be almost the sole event of the curling season. P
Wing Night
Wednesday 5 - 8 pm
Texas Holdem Poker
Thursday, Registration 6:30 pm
Karaoke
Saturday, March 28 8:30 pm Family Friendly • Rooms Available
250-449-2655 Bored Room Bistro 607 8th Ave., Midway, BC
250-449-2465
14,030
11 am - 2 pm
12 per person (tax incl)
Takeout, Sit In, Delivery Midway, Greenwood, Rock Creek www.boredroombistro.com
Westbridge, BC
Located in Westbridge and proud to service the area
1-250-446-6808
24543 16681
8
Two-tier rate system not fair, residents hear PAT KELLY
Sunday Brunch
0
4
Boundary Creek Times Reporter
pizzas SOLD as of March 15, 2015
$
P3
8
The two-tiered rate structure implemented by FortisBC in 2012 is discriminating against those who do not have access to the cheaper natural gas to heat their homes. That was the message brought to about 30 West Boundary residents who turned out for a meeting at Midway Community Hall last week. The Anarchist Mountain Community Association (AMCA) and the West Boundary Sustainable Food and Resources Committee (FAR) sponsored the meeting. AMCA president Mark McKenney came with Nick Marty to deliver the case against the current two-tiered billing system applied in the province. Marty is an Anarchist Mountain resident who retired from a career as a senior energy advisor to the government of Canada. He spent the last 18 years before retiring working to develop policy and programs aimed at energy conservation. But when he looks at what was put in place in B.C. he says the BC Utilities Commission dropped the ball when they approved the plan. About a year and a half ago he started writing letters to the BCUC and the provincial government. The responses he got were disappointing so he, under the umbrella of the AMCA, took his argument to MLA Linda Larson last December. Through her efforts the minister of energy has now been in communication and Marty has had a meeting with ministry staff.
Pasta perfect
The Midway Community Hall was filled recently with hungry people who had come out to support the BCSS French class field trip to Quebec. Here is a picture of one of the few moments the crew on the serving line had a break. PHOTO: PAT KELLY
Marty said a follow up conference call with the minister is scheduled for April 14. The two-tiered rate system is formally called the Residential Conservation Rate (RCR). It is supposed to encourage conservation by charging a lower rate for the first 1,600 kWh of power used in each two month billing cycle. Any power used above that threshold is charged at a higher rate. The system was meant to be revenue neutral—meaning that FortisBC would not bring in more revenue than under the old flat-rate billing system. Marty said that, properly designed, the threshold would be set at a level that would put about 10 per cent of your consumption into the second tier about block two should only be applied to about ten percent of your electricity consumption. That should encourage everyone to reduce their consumption by this 10 per cent target. “The problem is that there are two fundamen-
tally different types of customers in the province,” explained Marty. He said that 77 per cent of the homes in B.C. have access to natural gas to heat their homes and hot water. So the average urban customer, using only 1,400 kWh, saw their bills go down, while rural customers are paying the higher block two rates for as much as 75 per cent of their power. Marty cited a FortisBC report filed with the BCUC that showed 68.5 per cent of their customers were billed less than they would have been under the flat rate. He said it is a simple law of economics: if prices go down, consumption goes up. Therefore Marty argues the RCR is not maximizing the potential for energy conservation. He suggests the threshold for those living without access to natural gas should be more like 6,400 kWh every two months; and for urban dwellers it should be closer to 1,200. • See TWO-TIER page A3