Summary :
As of right now, British Columbia's electricity prices are considered pretty low, however, all that's going to change in the near future. Ontario's power prices are rising due to their energy polices, and if we follow in their footsteps, our electricity prices will go up as well. Ontario's Green Energy Act is a feed-in tariff (FIT) paid by consumers that would help wind and solar power productions. By 2015, consumers would pay a total of 3.8 billion under the Green Energy Act. B.C. also is planning to introduce a FIT program next year. The program will work by having BC Hydro enter into contracts with other power producers to provide backers of the projects with an acceptable rate of return. Some technologies that would be worked on include: biomass, bio gas, geothermal heat, solar, tidal and wind. Despite being accounted for only one-third of the electricity demand, all costs of the projects will be paid by the consumers. This is because the government has to prevent job losses and tone down the costs of industrial power prices. After the FIT program is put to action, the cost of residential power might increase by threefold!
Connection :
This article connects to Chapter 11 of the textbook because if energy costs increase, then pretty much everything related to energy will increase as well. Businesses will be more costly to maintain and will need to make more income to balance out the expenses. Therefore, the cost of goods will increase depending on the type of business. Consumers might not buy as much as before because of the strain on their budgets. Business owners might change their inventory or stop selling less profitable items. Overall, businesses will probably make less gross profit and net profit than before and many might have to even close down.
Reflection :
I think being updated with the current news would be extremely helpful towards business owners. Knowing that the electricity costs will increase can help business owners prepare and start making a plan for when the changes go into effect. Consumers will appreciate these news too because they might have to reconstruct their budgets. It also affects people who want to start their own businesses. Many people will have to rethink their business plans or even decide again whether or not they want to start up a business with the future conditions. In any case, information is always extremely important for decision-making.
