BC Hydro Says They Are Investing $2.4 Billion In Capital Spending

Thursday, August 05, 2010 03:45 AM

When you nearly double your salaried employees within a three year period you are either expanding at previously unheard of leaps and bounds, or you are just putting more and more layers of people onto the payroll to do what amounts to a fraction more work.

Case in point, BC Hydro, a Crown Corporation , where the work force being paid more than $75,000 dollars year had grown from 4046 in 2006 to 7402 in 2009, that represents an increase of over 75%.

Now on the other side of the coin, The Union of Office and Professional Workers and the IBEW settled for increases of zero and zero over the past two years.

Add to this the number of people earning over $200,000 which increased from 61 to 119 during the same time period. It would be interesting to have BC Hydro come up with the reason and the work load of these new found employees.

When you have a work force that grows to 3954 earning over $100,000 dollars from 1869, it is time to have a look at what you have been doing with your money.

We do know this, BC Hydro did receive a rate increase from the BCUC , (who also gave us a quick shuffle in trying to get to the bottom of the file) of 6.1% in March 2010, to as BC hydro has said, prevent a short fall of revenue.

In an interview with Opinion250, a BC Hydro spokesman says the company has invested more than $2.4 billion dollars in Capital spending since 2006. That figure has gone from $610 million in 2006 to the $2.4 billion figure today. But wait if you factor in the new employees the increase in staff amounts to $1 billion 500 million, thereabouts of that $2.4 billion investment. Still more questions.

When asked why there was a major increase in persons earning over $75,000 a year we were told, "we hired them because we need them, they are long term jobs". As for the question of whether nearly half of the new capital spending is in staff, BC Hydro "will get back to us."

I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.

Previous Story - Next Story

Email |

Print |

Facebook |

Twitter |

Digg |

Del.icio.us

Posted on Thursday, August 05, 2010 03:45 AM in Views by Ben Meisner

Return to Home

Comments

Posted by: Andyfreeze on August 5 2010 7:28 AM

Stinky...very stinky!
Keep digging Ben!
Great job!

Posted by: IMO on August 5 2010 8:19 AM

Just another example of the coruption in this government. They want to ruin BC Hydro so they can sell it off by crying its not making enough money. People need to be fired! We need to start speaking up people, soon!

Posted by: gus on August 5 2010 8:29 AM

I am not sure whether these are new hires or whether most are actually existing people who were at the $70,000 to lets say $74,000 level in 2006 and were given raises over the 3 year period that then put them into the $75,000+ level.

The other scenario, and none of the several there would be are mutually exclusive, is that some had more opportunity to work extra hours.

It is the words "we HIRED them because we need them, they are long term jobs" that are perplexing to me. It seems that all or the majority are actually new hires.

What is the total payroll for BC Hydro and what is the total staff size?

In my mind there is simply insufficient information for me to form an informed opinion.

Posted by: seamutt on August 5 2010 2:37 PM

Ben you are barking up the wrong tree here. What you should looking into is the money and people behind and pushing for windfarms and IPP's. Now that would be a story. Reads like a whos who of the liberal party and their supporters. We are being fleeced big time.
A good increase in Hydro's workforce has to do IPP's.

Forget about flooding more land, windfarms covering thousands of acres, streams and rivers affected by power plants, build nuclear.
I have wondered why the government is so against nuclear, maybe not as easy to hide graft.

Posted by: Eagleone on August 5 2010 7:29 PM

Some real journalism is great to see. Thanks Ben. Obviously Hydro needs to be more accountable in how it gives out money to the management class... the unions are zero and zero over the last two years and yet every pay category has nearly doubled says a lot about what is going on there with our collective crown corporation... and essentially they know they will get the rate increases, so we are effectively held hostage as rate payers.