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Catalyst bracing for $26-million rise in annual electricity bill

Among the hardest hit by the B.C. Hydro rate hikes announced Tuesday was pulp and paper operator Catalyst, which has mills in Port Alberni and Crofton. Catalyst is the single largest industrial user of power in B.C.

Among the hardest hit by the B.C. Hydro rate hikes announced Tuesday was pulp and paper operator Catalyst, which has mills in Port Alberni and Crofton.

Catalyst is the single largest industrial user of power in B.C. and will see its electricity bill rise from $124 million annually to approximately $150 million within the first two years, said vice-president Lyn Brown.

“It’s a big number,” Brown said. “We went through our own financial restructuring just a year ago. We’re mindful of every dollar of additional cost. We’re still in a really tough industry. While we appreciate the long-term certainty the [Hydro rate] plan contains … it has to be balanced against the short-term competitiveness hurdle.”

Catalyst has already absorbed a 27 per cent B.C. Hydro hike over the past three years, she said.

The company is recovering from bankruptcy protection and has warned in the past that electricity rates are reaching a level where they hamper competitiveness.

Energy Minister Bill Bennett said he is mindful of how rate hikes will affect industrial users, who will see monthly bills increase an average of $139,000.

Catalyst said it will be taking time to analyze the overall impact to the company. It hopes that a government process to examine industrial rates will look at how they affect competitiveness, Brown said.

The company, which employs 1,550 workers, recently announced it was reducing its executive team by three by the end of the year to save money.

rshaw@timescolonist.com