April 3rd, 2024

Fair, predictable, affordable. In a perfect world, developers would work in those conditions every time you interface with any organization, policy or process.

For decades, UDI and our partners have been working to iron out some issues involving utilities that can lead to considerable cost and frustration over the lifespan of a development project.

Today, we want to highlight the progress we’ve made towards a more fair, predictable and equitable experience with the provincial energy provider.

Unless you operate exclusively in parts of the Okanagan, you are likely encountering BC Hydro at several stages of your projects, and may already be familiar with the issues:

Network distribution capacity varies within, and across, communities, where the existing infrastructure that was built decades ago and upgrades haven’t always kept pace with the growing demand.

When the demand for energy generated by a new project exceeds the current network’s capacity, the necessary upgrades are often costly. Currently, that project must foot the bill for extending the network and possibly up-stream system upgrades. This infrastructure could also be used by other developments in the future, without contributing to the cost of the upgrade. Of course, nobody wants to go first and get stuck with the bill.

We think this system can be designed better to be fairer, and we’ve been working with BC Hydro on it.

UDI would like to see lower charges with fees distributed more equitably and more pro-active investments in upgrades by BC Hydro. This would prevent surprise charges and that are currently delaying the delivery of new homes in some parts of the province.

We have asked BC Hydro to come to the table to work on these issues.

BC Hydro has said they would do just that. We have been working with them alongside CHBA BC through a small working group on this issue for about a year, and we are now nearing the end of that process.

A solution is in sight as BC Hydro prepares to make an application to the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) this year to propose the following changes that we have worked on with them:

• Increase BC Hydro's contribution allowance towards each extension;
• Increase the types of charges that are eligible to be offset by BC Hydro's contribution; and
• Eliminate up-stream capacity improvement charges to new connections, except in exceptional cases where very large upgrades are required.

UDI has also been advocating to the government to help fund BC Hydro infrastructure investments, because it will take support from all levels of government to get the infrastructure we need in place to support our growing communities.

Earlier this year, the government announced an extra $10 billion in capital investments in BC Hydro. Some of this money will go towards capital investments and pro-active infrastructure delivery to expand and upgrade BC Hydro’s network.

Another step forward!

Finally, we have been working to help bridge the gap between municipal planning and policy development, and utilities. This is why we have encouraged BC Hydro to be an active part of municipal planning processes so that both groups know what changes are on the horizon and identify unintended consequences before they happen.

Every one of these efforts is to take some of the burden off developers and make it easier, faster and less costly to get shovels in the ground.

UDI’s work with BC Hydro is one example of a challenge that we have been working on for a long time behind the scenes—and we don’t always highlight this work because it can be slow to reach the big milestones.

But we are always chipping away at it, and in the case of BC Hydro, UDI is on the verge of seeing some real progress.

We recognize that the outcomes of this work are important to our members, and we are happy to have BC Hydro as a willing partner at the table to collaborate towards long-term solutions.

Sincerely,

Anne and the UDI Team