Your Fortis B.C. electricity bill just went up

KELOWNA – Customers of Fortis B.C. have been hit with a 1.6 per cent increase to the cost of electricity today.

Fortis says the rate hike, which has been approved by the B.C. Utilities Commission, takes effect August 1.

Add that to the 3.5 per cent interim rate hike made on January 1, which the Commission has now made permanent.

The utility plans to use the extra money to make upgrades and improvements to the electrical system, and buy more capacity for the system, according to a media release.

“We understand that our customers are concerned with the cost of electricity,” Fortis vice president Roger Dall’Antonia says in the release. “We continue to work internally to find efficiencies and make sure we deliver safe and reliable electricity at the lowest reasonable cost.”

To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infonews.ca. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.