Hydro rates go up today

Hydro customers in Ontario will be paying more for their electricity starting today.
Across the province, the commodity price of electricity for eligible consumers will be 5.0 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for the first 750 kWh they use each month, and 5.8 cents per kWh for electricity used per month over this amount.
This is a hike from the previous rates of 4.7 cents per kWh and 5.5 cents per kWh, respectively.
But since Fort Frances Power Corp. customers benefit from the historic power agreement with the local paper mill, FFPC CEO Jim Kibiuk said the commodity price here will be 1.5 cents less than elsewhere.
For example, customers using less than 750 kWh a month will be paying 3.5 cents per kWh, not 5.0 cents.
Kibiuk added ratepayers here will see an overall increase of 4.8 percent on their future hydro bills—a 2.4 percent increase in the commodity price and a 2.4 percent jump to the distribution cost.
But he noted the overall increase here is not nearly as drastic as elsewhere. Kibiuk has been keeping an eye on increases for other communities in Ontario and has seen various rates (commodity price and distribution cost combined) hiked an average of four-12 percent.
The Ontario Energy Board announced changes to electricity prices for the province’s residential, low-volume, and designated consumers on March 11.
Energy minister Dwight Duncan had asked the OEB to develop an electricity price plan to make sure the prices consumers pay for electricity better reflect the price paid to generators.
In addition to today’s increase, that price threshold—the amount of electricity that is charged at the lower price—will change twice a year for residential consumers starting Nov. 1.
The price threshold will be 1,000 kWh per month during a winter season (Nov. 1-April 30) and 600 kWh/month during a summer season (May 1-Oct. 31).
This means consumers will be able to use more electricity at a lower price in the winter, when many people need more power for light, indoor activities, and heating.
For non-residential consumers eligible for the new price plan, the price threshold will remain at 750 kWh for the entire year.
“This new plan is designed to be stable and predictable, and to help consumers manage their electricity costs while, at the same time, making sure the prices they pay better reflect the prices paid to generators,” OEB chair Howard Wetston said in a press release.
Eligibility for the new electricity price plan is determined by the government through regulation. The Ministry of Energy has indicated eligible consumers include those in the residential class, those that use less than 250,000 kWh per year, and those in the municipal, university, school, and hospital sectors.
These consumers will be eligible for the price plan until April, 2008, at which time eligibility will be limited to residential consumers and consumers that are classified as “general service less than 50 kilowatt demand” by their utility.
The new price plan is a blend of the regulated prices for Ontario Power Generation’s nuclear and baseload hydro facilities announced by the province on Feb. 23, existing contract prices for supply from non-utility generators, and the OEB’s forecast of electricity prices in the spot market over the next 12 months.
In subsequent periods of the price plan, any additional new supply delivered under contract will be included in the price calculation.
The prices established by the OEB last month are intended to stay the same for one year.
At the end of that year, and every six months after that, the prices consumers pay for electricity may change based on an updated board forecast as well as any difference in the amount consumers paid for electricity and the amount paid to generators.