I believe that what Mr. Copeland is referring to in his article in the last published letters to the editor concerns his equalization payment plan with FortisBC and the notice that his monthly payments will now be increased by 33 per cent.
No matter how you slice it, this amounts to a rate increase of 33 per cent. If I should receive the same notice my monthly payment would increase from $380 to $506. $380 per month is already highway robbery, but if I had not agreed to this amount I was informed that my electricity would be turned off. Being a senior I find it hard enough at the present rate without such a despicable money grab on my meager income.
It is easy to blame Fortis, but the B.C. Utilities Commission is just as guilty, if not more so, as they must have OK’d such a blatant theft of a seniors income. Apparently Fortis has been given the right to steal and unless the public does something about it nothing will change. It would be too expensive to buy out Fortis and send them packing, but the commission comprised of appointed individuals and I think that it is high time that they were sacked and new ones were appointed that would listen to the people. I guess that receiving a salary of between $85,000 to $180,000 per year shields them from feeling the pain that us poor peons feel every month.
There are petitions out there asking for an audit of the prices, principles and policies of both Fortis and the commission, so please sign it so that we can regain control of our rights to fair play. Remember, with luck you may someday become pensioners and, with the Golden Age, live on a fixed income.
Donald E Thorsteinson
Oliver