I’d like to start out by talking a little about our upcoming Annual General Meeeting to be  held   .  Although Covid-19 has been challenging for BCSEA and for us all, one positive thing is that our virtual AGM will be easily accessible by everybody in BC and beyond.  While many people may think that an AGM would be boring, it can actually be much more interesting than you think.  You will have a chance to get a real picture of BCSEA, our exciting new initiatives, the state of our ongoing initiatives, our challenges, and what our 4 local Chapters have been up to.  It’s also a chance for you to ask questions of board members, staff, and other BCSEA members and activists and even to present some of your own ideas about what you’d like to see BCSEA doing.  So we hope you will join us!  It’s just a few clicks away.  Find more information here.

On October 14, 2020, the BC Utilities Commission approved a new optional rate pilot program designed to incent large customers to increase their consumption of clean electricity.

The BC Utilities Commission is now grappling with the rates that a public utility is allowed to charge EV drivers at public fast-charging stations. First up is the FortisBC utility that provides electricity to customers in south central BC. Next will be BC Hydro.

Earlier this fall, the Kamloops Chapter used all of our communication channels to encourage our audience to participate in the public engagement phase of the draft Community Climate Action Plan that is being developed by the City of Kamloops. That phase has concluded now and the project team is analyzing the results to present them to Council later this year.  Our volunteers are also working on two projects behind the scenes and will be happy to share those with you when we’re sure they’re going ahead! 

For the BC election, the Victoria Chapter teamed up with Parents for Climate, For Our Grandkids and For Our Kids to put five critical climate action questions to all the candidates in our seven local constituencies. The questions and responses are currently posted here.

Some answers were obviously cut and pasted from party platforms. Others were individually crafted. Some were vague or wishful. Others were specific and realistic. All showed a commitment to addressing climate change and moving off fossil fuels.

Chapter AGM: See more from the Victoria Chapter.

Our Okanagan Chapter is actively participating in the local climate dialogue, asking questions, and seeking allies to lever access towards a more sustainable future. The steering committee met online this month for the first time since April, getting reacquainted and energized. We tentatively scheduled our next online meeting for 3:30 PM on November 21, 2020, to discuss the Provincial AGM, our next steps, and welcome new steering committee members. Please contact us if you would like to be involved. 

This presentation will showcase a series of resources – compiled into a ‘protocol’ – that can increase capacity for municipalities to accelerate implementation of renewable energy.  Dec. 9