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Street lighting service and related rates

About Street Lighting Service rates

In some cases, customers will be charged a flat rate amount each month for their electricity use because it's not practical for us to bill some customers using a meter. A common example is street lighting.

Street lighting is on for a set number of hours each day, we know the number of lights, and we know how much electricity each light uses in an hour. So we charge our customers a flat rate amount instead of metering each individual light.

There may be other situations where unmetered rates are suitable for customers. To learn more about special conditions for unmetered rates, refer to the Electric Tariff for these rates.

BC Hydro relies on customers to self-report light or equipment additions, modifications or removals to ensure its billing records stay up-to-date. In some cases, this is not done timely or accurately, resulting in us under or over-billing customers. This can also create administration challenges as we work to make these billing corrections.

Customers with Overhead Street Lighting, Public Area Ornamental Street Lighting and Traffic Control Equipment accounts can manage their street lights using the Street Light Information Management System (SLIM).

We provide street lighting service to communities across the province where there are suitable overhead distribution lines. We own and operate these street lights, which are attached to our poles. Customers who require street lighting service from us are billed a flat rate each month, which covers the cost of the light fixture, maintenance and the electricity use.

Customers with overhead street lighting service are billed under Rate Schedule 1701 of the Electric Tariff.

The rate charged each month depends on the wattage of the street light.

Fixture typePer fixture per month
<51 watt LED unit$17.20
51-80 watt LED unit$21.40
81-120 watt LED unit$26.80
>120 watt LED unit$31.43
100 watt H.P. sodium vapor unit$21.97
150 watt H.P. sodium vapor unit
$26.21
200 watt H.P. sodium vapor unit
$30.29
175 watt mercury vapor unit$24.15
250 watt mercury vapor unit$27.82
400 watt mercury vapor unit
$35.87
Wattages are unit wattages for LEDs and lamp watts for high pressure sodium and mercury vapor

 

The Public Area Ornamental Street Lighting rate is available across the province for customers who own and operate their own street lights that are not attached to our poles. These street lights may be either unmetered or metered.

Customers with public area ornamental street lighting service are billed under Rate Schedule 1702 of the Electric Tariff.

Energy Charge

4.23 cents per watt of billing wattage for each unmetered fixture per month.

12.70 cents per kWh for each metered fixture.

The Street Lighting Service rate is for customers who own and operate their own street lights that are attached to our poles. This rate is closed to new customers.

Customers with street lighting service are billed under Rate Schedule 1703 of the Electric Tariff.

Energy Charge

4.23 cents per watt of billing wattage per month.

Contact Charge

$1.26 per contact per month.

The Traffic Control Equipment rate is available across the province and is for customers who require lighting for traffic signals, traffic signs and traffic warning devices, and other equipment for controlling or directing vehicle or pedestrian traffic on public highways where the customer owns, installs, and maintains the standards, fixtures, controls and associated equipment. The traffic control equipment may be either unmetered or metered.

Customers with traffic control equipment service are billed under Rate Schedule 1704 of the Electric Tariff.

Energy Charge

12.70 cents per kWh.

Unmetered service under the Small General Service Rate is available, if allowed by BC Hydro, to customers with an annual peak demand less than 35kW in Rate Zone I and 1B who require lighting, display signs or sign boards during established hours for private property, or for telecommunications infrastructure and other uses where it’s not practical for BC Hydro to install and maintain a meter.

Customers with unmetered service under the Small General Service rate receive service under Rate Schedule 1300 of the Electric Tariff.

Basic Charge

A small, daily amount that partially recovers fixed customer-related costs, including customer service channels, metering, billing, payment processing, collections, and distribution system costs that are customer-related (electrical lines and transformers).

40.89 cents per day.

Energy Charge

The energy charge is calculated on the BC Hydro estimated electricity usage, in kWh, over a two month period based on the connected load and the hours to use.

14.06 cents per kWh.