The British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) is committed to protecting your privacy.

Information collected directly from you

On specific pages, we may ask you for personal information to provide a service or carry out a task at your request. You do not have to provide any of this information, but if you do not, we may not be able to complete your request.

The personal information we collect may include:

• Contact details, such as your name, title, company/organization name, e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers, and physical address;
• Information about your company, and job function;
• Information used to customize and facilitate your use of our website, including login and technical information;
• Event registration information; and
• Feedback from you about our website and our services generally.

Information collected automatically

The BCUC collects information about your visit to our websites using encrypted cookies. This includes what pages viewed, the number of bytes transferred, the links clicked, the materials accessed, and other actions within the BCUC's websites.

If you do not want a cookie placed on your computer by the BCUC, you may disable cookies altogether by modifying the Preferences section of your browser. Note, it is possible that some aspects of BCUC websites may be unavailable to you if you choose this option.

The BCUC also collects certain standard information that your browser sends to every website you visit, such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address, your browser type and capabilities and language, your operating system, the date and time you access the site, and the website from which you linked to our site. We do not link this information to your identity.

Services and requests

The BCUC uses your personal information to deliver services or carry out tasks at your request, such as providing information on our proceedings, upcoming conferences, responding to complaints, sending you information you have asked us to provide, facilitating use of our websites, and so forth.

Except as described below, personal information you provide to the BCUC through our websites will not be shared outside the BCUC without your permission.

Disclosure in connection with tasks

In connection with certain tasks, we may disclose some or all of your personal information to financial institutions, government entities, and shipping companies or postal services involved in fulfilling a task.

Disclosure for other reasons

The BCUC may disclose personal information if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with legal requirements or with legal process served on us, to protect and defend our rights or property, or in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of any individual.

The BCUC is committed to protecting the security of your personal information. We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. For example, we store the personal information you provide on computer systems with limited access. For sites you log in to, it is your responsibility to ensure the security of your password and not to reveal this information to others. When you move around a site to which you have logged into, or from one site to another that uses the same login mechanism, we verify your identity by means of an encrypted cookie placed on your machine.

In all cases, you can make a request to review and correct your personal information collected via our websites or ask BCUC to stop using it by contacting us. We may take steps to verify your identity before providing you access to your personal information. You can help us to maintain the accuracy of your information by promptly notifying us of any change to your mailing address, phone number, or email address.

Personal information collected, used, disclosed and retained by the BCUC websites is done so under the authority of the  (FIPPA) or other relevant legislation. Personal information will only be used by authorized staff to fulfill the purpose for which it was originally collected, or for a use consistent with that purpose unless you expressly consent otherwise. We do not disclose your information to other public bodies or individuals except as authorized by FIPPA.

Our websites may contain links to other sites, professional and government organizations, and publications. While we try to link only to sites that share our high standards and respect for privacy, we are not responsible for the content, security, or privacy practices employed by other sites.

If you have questions regarding this statement or the BCUC's handling of your personal information, please contact us. We will promptly address your concern and strive to reach a satisfactory resolution.

The BCUC may occasionally update this Web Privacy Policy. When we do, we will revise the "last updated" date within this section.