I bet the City of PG has had a similar, if not greater, increase in management salaries, but without the good reasoning.

Time for Cambell to go and get his own job working for Hydro.... but it might be called USHydro by then

All levels of government and their different departments such as BC Hydro have over inflated wages and personnel. These people get paid by the tax payers and they make more than MOST people in that group. Where else other than government does the employee earn more than the boss? Where else other than government does the employee vote themselves a raise with no say from the boss? It is ridiculous how stupid the sheeple are that government has gotten away with this bull chit! They have the best dental, medical and retirement while the people who pay for these things have a tough time paying to have their teeth fixed. Most of us barely have a retirement. Someone please explain to me how this is right? Why do we continue on a silent path and let this happen? When are we going to say ENOUGH?

"A BC hydro spokesman says BC hydro has invested $2.4 billion dollars in capital spending since 2006 until today and that is the reason why the number of staff earning more than $75,000 dollars a year has grown from 4046 in 2006 to 7402 in 2009."

That does not tell me a single thing.

How about something like this, it is purely an example I am using to give people an idea of what I would expect would be a rational answer.

1. we have aging infrastructure which has been entering its first renewal phase

2. we have infrastructure which has considerable reliance on utility masts that will serve us better and more economically if we bury it in strategic locations

3. rather than contracting our work out, most of the work is done by in-house staff.

4. if more of it would be contracted out, the staffing costs would then be transferred to the capital accounts.

5. our philosophy is that installing upgrades using in-house staff is more cost effective than sending projects out to contractors.

As I said, how realistic that is, I do not know. However, the statement given is a useless statement. It needs more explanation of WHY a staff increase of that magnitude is needed to accommodate the capital projects. I am sure that 2.4 billion dollars is a drop in the bucket compared to the replacement value of the assets on hand prior to that expenditures.

If that assumption of mine is true, then the ratio of staffing costs to the replacement costs of capital assets in place would be considerably lower than the ratio of staffing costs to the new capital assets, IF IN FACT they are all new rather than replacement.

Bohemian ... sorry, but I see no good reasoning at all .... :-)

Municca says

"Where else other than government does the employee vote themselves a raise with no say from the boss?"

Sorry Municca employees do not get to vote themselves a raise.

Only politicians get to vote themselves a raise.

Ahhh acrider54 that is what he/she said. People who work in government are employees even the mla's and premiere. Not understanding the nitpicking on this?

Folks its called supply and demand. There is a big demand for electrical utility workers in north america. The workers will move onto where the pay is better if hydro does not keep up. The good portion of pay comes from overtime.
Gus hydro is forced to pay high wages to keep up with what the contractors pay, supply and demand. There are more contractors working on the lines than Hydro workers.
Hydro has about the lowest power rates in north america. But that will change as we pay for the very expensive run of the river plants and wind power. Site C is being built to back up windpower. Here is a dirty little secret abut windpower. For every watt of wind power another watt is needed from secure base power for backup.

If we build nuclear plants there would be no need for windfarms covering tens of thousnads of acres, new dams flooding thousands of acres and run of the river plants messing up our rivers and streams.

Burying electrical lines can cost 3 to ten times more than overhead lines, and people are complaining about costs now. Hydro has about the lowest power rates in north america.

MLA's and the premiere are not BC Hydro employees.

Good comment seamutt

It says this:

Where else other than government does the employee vote themselves a raise with no say from the boss?

It does not say anything about BC Hydro employees.

I was talking about government employees Acrider. The hydro issue was over after the first sentence.

My main problem with government workers is that they wouldnt last 10 seconds in the real world. If government hired top people to administer public funds that would be one thing but the public service is super unionized. After a few months they can be completely useless and there is nothing that can be done for 30 to 35 years. And because they couldnt survive anywhere else but another union job they sure arent going to move themselves. Then they get promoted based on seniority and before you know it you have a deputy minister that wasnt a capable clerk! Just another way unions contibute to the world.

I stand corrected

But that will change as we pay for the very expensive run of the river plants and wind power.

Maybe it has already started to change. Could it be that now they need extra staff to supervise and negociate with the free loaders on run of the river projects. Don’t worry about how inefficient union workers are. We should be more concerned about the profit that’s going to these run of the river developers.

It is difficult to figure why people are so concerned about government and union workers. They are all people like you and I and the wages that they get will all go back to the community in which they live. It is consumerism that drives our economy it sure as hell is not industry that’s owned by foreign investors and the profits leave our country forever.
Cheers

Did anyone notice that BC Hydro has very few line crews anymore. Most of their line work and construction is farmed out to contractors.

Born in BC you base this on what? You show total ignorance on the subject. I think you are jealous for not having the skill set for a unionized job.
I have worked private and unionized and it is my opion that unionized jobs are more organized and better quality work, period.

The big problem with government workers is having to deal with the whims of whatever government is in power at the time, which more often than not results in a poor job.

Hey, you think government works have it bad due to the whims of the government in power.

You should try to work in the free enterprise world sometime.

First you got Jim, and just when you got him figured out he gets promoted to Toronto, then Alec takes over, and you got to re-arrange all you priorities and he gets to go to Lethbridge because you did such a good job for him, then Sue comes in and she turns everything over virtually starting a new leaf.

I mean it goes on and on. And I am not even talking about the CEO and the Board that keep on changing all the time and trying to fine tune everything.

And you just keep your head buried in the work thinking that if there were not all of these changes you would be out of a job.

:-)

Just think, there are no $25,000 secretaries anymore who did your typing and filing. They have all become $55,000 executive assistants.
v
You, with your MBA, on the other hand, do your typing, your tweeting, your emailing and texting and have become a $95,000 networking specialist on the golf course, the gym and the meeting rooms and the airports dependent totally on your exec assist to feed you the right exec summaries of reports written by someone else.

I don't know about the Bosses and there Income, but have you complainers ever worked as a Lineman in any kind off Weather freezing your Fingers and Ears off,never mind the Danger involved , go down to the Office and apply, you may get hired !

http://www.terracedaily.ca/show6748a/ALCAN_MODERNIZATION_BEGINS_TODAY

Somewhat related to the BC Hydro story and good news for Kitimat!

have you complainers ever worked as a Lineman in any kind off Weather freezing your Fingers and Ears off,never mind the Danger involved ,

Good one Outwest. It is so easy to forget that our tradesmen and operations workers make the profit for some scuzzy corporation. And the top just keeps getting heaver and heaier. Thats the direction that BC Hydro is going. This is so that Gordon Pinocciho* Campell can sell it off to his corporate freinds Wonder when it will colaps
Cheers
* Stole this from Rafe Mair his fovorite name for Gordo..

Im a govt worker.. The problem is they manage from the top down from the clowns that are elected.


Ive worked in both industry and govt..Unions and non union.. They all have thier pro's and cons.

"unionized jobs are more organized and better quality work, period."
Your opinion, Seamutt.

My opinion?
A well run company need not be unionized to be organized and perform high quality work. Those results depend entirely upon good management skills, standards of workmanship that are adhered to, and the diligent work of your well trained employees. Contrary to union propaganda, simply being a member and getting your mandatory training in a union sponsored facility does not automatically make one a superior tradesperson. I am a union tradesman, and in well over thirty years experience have observed shoddy workmanship and poor organizational skills from union and non union companies and individuals alike.
Back to the story; BC Hydro union employees enjoy amoung the best in benifits, overtime, and wages. To land a job with them is like cementing your future, IMHO: "they've got it made:
metalman.