FortisBC says its two-tiered billing rate for residential electricity users will soon be a thing of the past.

On Thursday, Fortis announced that its request to return to a single, flat electricity rate for residential users was approved by the B.C. Utilities Commission. Fortis says the elimination process will take five years, and that the request was submitted in December 2017.

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So, what does this mean for Fortis customers? Possible savings or maybe higher electricity bills — Fortis said returning to a flat rate is revenue neutral.

According to Fortis, the two-tiered rate, also known as the residential conservation rate, was put in place in 2012 at the direction of the B.C. Utilities Commission to encourage energy conservation. Fortis says its customers pay a higher rate when use exceeds 1,600 kilowatt hours over a two-month period.

Fortis said “returning to a flat rate provides annual savings for about 30 per cent of customers who had higher bills under the two-tiered system. It could also mean moderate bill increases for lower-use customers who saved under the two-tiered system.”

Fortis added that the five-year approach will reduce bill impacts for those customers, which the company forecasts to be less than 3.5 per cent per year.

Fortis said its customers can find out more and estimate how returning to a flat rate will affect their annual electricity costs by clicking here or calling 1-866-436-7847.

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