dbd33

Inevitably not, utilities are usually natural monopolies, governments only privati s e them to do a mate a favour or in pursuit of a nevermind-how-much-harm-it-does-its-our-religion ideology. The public certainly doesn't win.

scrubbedexpat091

without using washer/dryer/stove/oven/no TV we used 38 kWh yesterday, been using between 38 kWh to 49 kWh which is double or more vs last month on a daily average, bill is estimated at $101 dollars or about double, but still 2 weeks to go.


Upside is at these temps, BC Hydro doesn't shut off power, but they allowed us to defer the extra $50 this month and extend the payment due date until GST cheque comes in January.

Weather stripping was added to patio door as it had none and the gaps around the frame/door was big and cold air was coming in, and could be felt, however even using the largest size weather stripping, there was still a significant gap, so also used duct tape around the frame which has made a significant difference in reducing the cold air draft. According to the maintenance person the walls were not properly insulated and the baseboards installed are for a room 1/2 the size they are in, so one of many things they botched when building the place.

wheatsheaf

There was a documentary on condo construction and the astonishingly poor quality of workmanship and materials across Canada. It showed BC as being inundated with such buildings, but Toronto is also now facing the same problems. The point was made that oversight has been notably absent in favour of construction companies and the money they generate into the economy. The mentality generally is to let the future generations pay despite all the top notch materials and engineering abilities being available now. The doc made the point too that "foreign purchases" and "immigration" are mere excuses for the fast slip shoddy work.

scrubbedexpat091

I believe it. The newer buildings I have lived in have all had issues, where the older buildings from the 60-70's I have lived in were generally warm, and seemed to be well built and not many issues like mold, dampness, poor insulation etc.

After having been renting condos and apartments for the last decade, I really do not think I would ever buy one.

wheatsheaf

The question becomes why are Canadians so complacent about these sorts of things?. One explanation given, again in the documentary, is that Canadians generally are very transient which is profitably rewarded by selling problems forward onto new entrants!!. I cannot believe that no one has a conscience or at the very least a legal duty! But I guess that if Ontario's premier can gleefully admit to completely botching up hydro management whilst paying out millions for non existent projects, that anything goes!. Ill be told to get off my high horse....but is Robert Mugabe's cabinet also managing Canada?

scrubbedexpat091

Cheap and quick seems to the norm. I doubt it's much better in the US, but the area's I am familiar with don't have the same sort of condo/apartment density and still build mostly cookie cutter houses in the burbs, but they don't exactly scream quality. Nice to look at, but probably won't last 50+ years.

My dads house was built pre-WW2 and is pretty solidly built, but the home next door built in 2006 has been a money pit for the owner.

scrubbedexpat091

Noticed tonight the outlets and light switches that are on the exterior walls all have a nice fairly strong stream of cold air coming through them.

Each day I find new sources of cold air coming into the apartment.

R I C H

Buy the smallest bundle of insulation from Home Depot (https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.m...000539142.html) which is $8. Unscrew the outlet face plates and stuff in insulation behind the socket (turn off your breakers first to be safe).

scrubbedexpat091

Worked like a charm.


First time we have ever hit step 2 pricing, only 8 days left in this billing cycle, but man did December kill us with the cold weather, lesson learned, we cannot afford this apartment in the winter....lol

R I C H

Good to know

getoutofbritainquick

Who knows the true cost in BC when the government of the day seems to set the rates. Most crown corporations are cash cows for the government especially in BC. Fictitious profits enable the government to take huge dividends whilst the corporation takes the blame for escalating rates and runs up huge deferral accounts which some day will have to be paid off. Also most utilities in Canada have massive infrastructure costs to replace aging assets. Ontario went pear shaped by end of life assets, bad management and greed much like the UK. We have taken the steps to install as energy efficient appliances including a heat pump and LED lights as we can. Monthly bill averaged over the year is $147 to heat a 3500 sq ft house in Victoria. Natural gas transportation cost are very expensive on the Island and coming to other Provinces is the added cost of the carbon tax. Good luck with that one.

dbd33

Only one significant outage so far this winter, midnight to 5am on the 27th. The power supply isn't as reliable as my daughter has, in Bangui, Darkest Africa, but at least outages at night are convenient as there's someone here.

scrubbedexpat091

Haven't gotten the bill yet, so the taxes haven't been added, but taxes on hydro in BC are not significant so don't add more then maybe $5-$6 in total.

November 28th bill which covered October 25 to November 27 total usage was 525 kWh for a cost of $54 for the month.

November 26 to Nov 28 total usage was 972kWh for a pre-tax total of $97 for the billing period.

Was a tad cold in December, the bulk of the cost/use was from baseboard heaters.

scrubbedexpat091

We have about one a month on average, normally under 1 hour, but a few have gotten up to 4-5 hour mark.

scrubbedexpat091

BC Hydro is allowing special arrangement for Dec to March bills to be paid over a 6 month period to any customer who asks.

BC Hydro offers special payment plan due to cold snap - British Columbia - CBC News