Local hydro rates to rise

Staff

Fort Frances Power Corp. customers will see their bills go up starting next month.
FFPC CEO Joerg Ruppenstein said this morning the Ontario Energy Board has approved a rate adjustment effective May 1, which will have an impact of an average of three percent on residential consumers’ bills.
He explained the increase to the portion of the bill the FFPC has any control over is only a 0.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment.
But when you also factor in components of the bill the FFPC doesn’t have control over, the overall increase is three percent.
As a local distribution company, the FFPC typically performs an annual review of its rates to see if certain components have been over-collected or under-collected, and makes an annual application to the OEB for an adjustment to the delivery charge.
Distribution companies are the collection agency for all parties that get paid their fraction of an electricity bill.
In related news, Ruppenstein said the transition to time-of-use (TOU) rates for FFPC customers remains on schedule for July 1.
After that time, customers will move from the current regulated price plan to TOU rates, when hydro rates will vary throughout the day—being more expensive at peak times and less expensive during off-peak periods.
Theoretically, by knowing when these times are, people will be able to choose when and how they use electricity.
Ruppenstein said the FFPC will provide more information to its customers before TOU rates come into effect.