BC Liberals Milk BC Hydro Like A Cash Cow

I have been reading some shocking fear mongering stories being generated from BC Hydro, now let me be clear, I am neither an accountant or a brain surgeon but stupid I am not!..

BC Hydro wants massive residential prices increases, it`s bad enough we have a two tier rate but this latest rate increase is nothing but a blatant cash grab and I can prove it...

The BC Liberals are talking about $6 billion dollars in upgrades to the BC Hydro grid. first off, over $1 billion dollars of that money is pegged for smart meters that won`t produce one kilowatt of power, secondly, the Northwest Transmission line being built for industrial customers and  will be paid for out of RESIDENTIAL rate increases, another break to industry on the backs of regular joes, it has also been revealed that the BC Liberal Government have asked BC Hydro to double the dividends it pays to the Province....

So at a time when BC is bleeding jobs because of the HST, BCers have the highest personal debt levels in North America, energy prices are spiking, BC is in a recession and the BC Liberals want BC Hydro to pay the Province more money at the same time BC Hydro needs big money for IPP power buying contracts and a few bucks for upgrades, typical out of touch Liberals.

But friends, something doesn`t make sense, actually it stinks to high heaven, there are two things to consider, BC Hydro claims it needs all this money to pay for upgrades to the grid, roughly $6 billion dollars in upgrades, but hear me out, if that is true, once these upgrades are paid for shouldn`t the price of BC Hydro drop 50% after we pay for the upgrades, think of it like this, you take out a loan to buy a new engine for your truck, once you pay off the loan you no longer make payments, how come BC Hydro and the lying BC Liberals never once mentioned prices falling back once the upgrades are paid for....

Now you fine folk might think that the BC Hydro upgrades would be paid over 30 years thus most of us would never see those decreases however....With the amount of money BC Hydro is asking for far exceeds any of their proven needs.

There are about 1.9 million BC Hydro accounts in British columbia, BC Hydro claims the AVERAGE bill is $71 dollars a month but every house owner knows their bill is double to triple that, including mine, but being that as it may....Let`s use BC Hydro numbers, BC Hydro wants a 10% increase every year for five years, compounded that is a 53% increase over 5 years.....10% of $71 dollars is $7:10 per month,  $85 dollars increase per year, let`s round it off to a $100 dollar per year increase(considering I don`t believe BC Hydro`s numbers)...

$100 dollars times 1.9 million hydro accounts, that works out to roughly $200 million dollars per year, so that 1 year increase will bring BC Hydro $1 billion dollars over 5 years, $2 billion over 10 years, the second year 10% increase means BC Hydro will collect from residential customers another $1.8 billion dollars over 10 years.....The third year 10% increase is another $1.6 billion over 10 years, the fourth year 10% increase is another $1.4 billion over 10 years and the last increase will bring BC Hydro $1.2 billion dollars more by 2021....All toll,  $8.2 billion dollars in 10 years, that folks is only the increase to minimum bills, my numbers are under calculated, call the rate increases a $10 billion dollar bill to you in 10 years....

In 10 years the total BC Hydro will have collected from you just on the called for increases is....$10 billion dollars.


After the fifth year increase, BC Hydro per year will be collecting over $1 billion dollars more from you the rate payer each year...

But let`s go a little further with the increases, because BC Hydro and the Liberals never ever said after the upgrades are paid for prices will be slashed...

The first increase scheduled for April 1st 2011.....In 10 years that one single increase brings in to BC Hydro $2 billion dollars...10 years times $200 million dollars = $2 billion dollars....The second increase  after 10 years will have been in place for 9 years, 9 years times $200 million dollars = $1.8 billion dollars.....The third increase after 10 years, 8 years in place brings BC Hydro $1.6 billion dollars..8 years times $200 million dollars = $1.6 billion dollars...The fourth increase will have been in place 7 years in 2021 and bring BC Hydro $1.4 billion dollars...And the final increase in year 5... by the time 2021 rolls around that final increase will pay BC Hydro $1.2 billion dollars by 2021....

In other words ....If BC Hydro is granted these increases by 2021, 10 years from now BC Hydro will have collected only on the increases $8 to $10 billion dollars....All of the upgrades, smart meters, Revelstoke and Mica dam upgrades and the Northwest Transmission line, all upgrades put together total about $6 billion dollars.....

So you tell me, if we gave BC Hydro $8 billion dollars in 10 years just in the increases certainly that should not only pay for all the upgrades including interest payments.....But then what, shouldn`t at that time with all the upgrades done and paid for that all those increases should be removed...

No BC Liberal or BC Hydro Liberal spokesman have said any such thing....The truth is folks is that these increases are not for upgrades but to pay for the ridiculous over-priced IPP Power buying contracts, that is what`s going on...If BC Hydro is granted these increases those upgrades won`t be done, if they were done it wouldn`t be like what the lying Liberals have said...All done in 5 years! BULLSHIT....You Scuzzy BC Liberals haven`t even come close to your earthquake upgrades you promised to do on schools, I hope you BC Liberal MLAs have children in school when they crumble, not really....But think about that scenario you Liberal liars!

At a time when BC Hydro wants all this money the Province should forgo their dividends for 5 years and help pay for the upgrades....BC Hydro is pushing real hard for this money, check out this story here

Think about only the BC Hydro increases...$100 dollars more per year  ...$200 dolllars more next year...$300 dollars more the year after that......$400 dollars more the year after that...And $500 dollars more per year in 5 years, that is huge, and that is only the increase on the smallest residential HYDRO BILLS....Imagine the increase for families paying at present $200 a month for Hydro, ....Now we are talking doubling those numbers!

___________________________________________________________________________________________

I was googling up some leads when I ran across this story in the Vancouver sun from 2008....Below is cut n pasted from this story
____________________________________________________________________________________________

BC Hydro paid a dividend to the government of $358 million this year, another $402 million in fiscal 2009 and $444 million in fiscal 2010.
The power utility also pays the highest water rental rates in the country to acquire from the government a licence for the right to use water to generate electricity. The government expects to reap roughly $50 million in water rental revenue next year. In fact, the budget's fiscal plan forecasts higher energy costs owing in part to higher water rental rates.
The money extracted from BC Hydro is added to general revenue to cover public spending unrelated to power generation or distribution.
Rather than ensuring that BC Hydro has sufficient financial resources to maintain and expand its network to satisfy growing demand for electricity, governments past and present of all political stripes have treated the utility as a cash cow and extracted billions of dollars over the past two decades.
By 2011, BC Hydro plans to spend nearly $2 billion on grid improvements and is counting on rate increases of 6.5 per cent this year and 8.2 per cent next year to help pay for them. In effect, customers will be subsidizing not just the infrastructure improvements, but increases in the annual payout to government

_______________________________________________________________________________-_______
You see what that says folks, the BC Liberals are continuing to increase the dividend payable to the Province, the BC Liberals charge BC Hydro(us rate payers) the highest water rental rates in Canada, BC Hydro pays more than do the IPPs....Also, the above cut n pasted also states that rate increases are partially rising because the BC Liberals are demanding more money...Something has to give, the Gordon Campbell Liberals are not leaving BC Hydro any money for upgrades, any money BC Hydro is making gets funneled to the IPPs for export power to the USA.

Anyway folks, I might not be a brain surgeon but BC Hydro has over-stated their need for money by a factor of 2 to 1 minimum, there is no way in hell that BC Hydro needs $8 billion dolllars extra from rate payers in 10 years for a $6 billion dollar upgrade, BC Hydro can amoratize paying for the upgrades over 20 years, because believe me, there is no way it would cost BC Hydro $2 billion dollars in interest on a $6 billion dollar loan paid back over 10 years!

So here`s the deal you lying sleazy dirtbag BC Liberals, you want the rate increase, amoratize the Hydro debt over 20 years, reduce the BC Hydro dividend paid to the Province, you bastards already raped ICBC for $900 million dollars last July/2010.

Sorry folks, the math doesn`t work out, BC Hydro is asking for a ton of money, our only hope is for John Horgan to lay the boots to these BC Liberals and get to the bottom of the rate rip-off...And finally, listen up Cluck Cluck...I will personally start a BC Hydro bill revolt, an organized campaign where nobody pays their BC Hydro bill, that will happen this summer when it warms up, I have a generator and fuel, Fluck BC Hydro and this latest rip-off!.....Lastly Cluck Cluck, BC Hydro upgrades and rate increases must be put back in BCUC`s hands...

The numbers don`t add up, everything Rafe Mair, John Calvert, Damien Gillis , Will McMartin, and you contributers said about BC Hydro being bankrupted by Gordon Campbell and the liars is coming true, open up the books Cluck Cluck, let the public and the BCUC read the dirty details....There will be BC Hydro anarchy if this farce and scam doesn`t come to an end, road tolls, ferry rates spiking, Hydro rates, food inflation, property taxes, gasoline spikes, HST, user feers, the public is broke, yet the BC Liberals have no problem blowing $900 million dollars on a stadium roof, or $24 million dollars for lawyer fees for admitted criminals, .....Think long and hard Crusty Clark, Egypt, Libya, Tripoli, Africa, Wisconsin, don`t think street marches and utter violent chaos can`t erupt here in BC...

With rat-filled schools, emergency triage at Tim Hotons, 300 portables in Surrey and hundreds of schools ready to crumble with the slightest earthquake...The people have had enough...

The BC Liberals want BCers to pay off $6 billion dollars in upgrades in a few years yet the Port Mann bridge $3 billion dollar bridge is being paid back in 30 years...What the heck is that, BC Hydro wants an instant payback yet the bridge, 30 years!

All the while BC Hydro is not raising industrial Hydro rates a single dime during these 5 years! 

Families first Christy Clark.....Time to put the money where your mouth is.

The Straight Goods

Cheers-Eyes Wide Open