© "ther press >>> OPINIONS: Filibuster Editorial Cartoon J.J. McCullough OP cartoonist BUSH CABINET MEETING | A Suspicious Divorce: bc Gas and Bc Hydro Break Up Erin Culhane Opinions Editor Murray Douglas doesn’t like paying for something before he gets it. He certainly doesn’t like paying for a product based on an estimate. So the Maple Ridge resident is not pleased with the billing practices of BC Gas. While the meters are read bi-monthly, the utility company bills customers month- ly. “Basically, six months out of twelve, I’m paying based on an estimate,” said Douglas. This month BC Gas issued a bill separate from BC Hydro. As Douglas puts it, “The two boys couldn’t get along and play in the sandbox.” But it’s not the sepa- rate bill that troubles Douglas. He’s been paying bi- monthly utility bills for years. It’s paying for energy based on the guesswork of BC Gas. “Where else do you pay for usage based on an estimate? It’s like if | brought my car to a mechanic, and paid him based on his estimate, and the mechanic said, ‘If I’m wrong I'll pay you back.” Said Douglas, “My first bill was way off.” He explained that during the same period last year, he used 12.1 gigajoules of energy for two months, but his first BC Gas bill was for 10.1 gigs for just one month. “And I’m not the only one concerned. There have been 10,000 phone calls to BC Gas.” Douglas has taken his complaint to the BC Utilities Commission—he and 11 other BC Gas customers. For customers who are on the equal monthly pay- ment plan, paying based on an estimate is nothing out of the ordinary. It may just mean adding BC Gas to their Internet or telephone banking roster, or the inconven- ience of cutting an extra cheque and licking another stamp each month. But for those who have been pay- ing bi-monthly, this new system means going from pay- ing one bill to three every two months. I’m an equal payment customer, so while | can understand Douglas’ frustration, it really doesn’t affect me. What | find troubling is that after a fourteen-year mar- riage, the two companies have decided to call it quits. And we the utility customers are now the children of a broken home. According to a letter sent out to BC Gas customers last month, “BC Gas and BC Hydro attempted to retain the joint billing arrangement by investigating new sys- tems that would meet the needs of both the gas and electric utilities’”(We’ve been to countless marriage counselling sessions.) The letter goes on to state, “After extensive negotia- tions, both companies came to the conclusion that the needs of the gas and electric utilities are different and the best solution is for each utility to issue its own bill.” (Sorry, it’s over. Your dad’s moving out. Oh, and we’re doing it because it’s the best thing for you kids.) It's over, just like that? But, didn’t they seem happy enough for the last fourteen years? As a confused teenager, I’m left wondering if the “other woman” (a.k.a. the Liberals) might have something to do with the split. Everything was fine until she came along, wasn’t it? Oh, that little floozy, and her incessant talk of privatization...now | know what she was up to. As a utility customer, it’s a confusing time. Should | blame myself? Was it my fault that it ended? Was it that period in the early 90s when | didn’t pay my bill regu- larly? Wait a minute...maybe there’s something | can do. What if | make my cheque to BC Gas out to BC Hydro and vice-versa? Then they'll have to talk to each other, and then maybe, just maybe... Don’t worry my fellow family members. It may take years of counselling and a life-long fear of utility inti- macy, but we will get through this. As for Douglas, perhaps the Utilities Commission will come through with an agreeable solution, but I’m sure he’s not holding his breath.