Electricity Pricing
In November the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) announced a new price for electricity effective May 1, 2010. The new two tier price
is reflected on the electricity line of your bill. The two tier price has changed from 5.8 and 6.7 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh)
to 6.5 and 7.5 cents per kilowatt hour.
For residential customers the lower price applies to the first 1000 kWh of electricity per month during the winter season
(November to May). During the summer season the first tier threshold becomes 600 kWh per month.
As much as possible the OEB sets the electricity prices to reflect the prices paid to generators but they are smoothed out so
that you are not subject to the day-to-day market volatility. The OEB will review and possibly change the electricity price every
six months, on May 1st and November 1st.
Annual changes were made to the delivery charges on May 1st. Enbridge Electric has increased its delivery charges to reflect
the increase in charges approved by the OEB for the local electricity distribution company. Taken together the monthly bill for a
typical Enbridge Electric customer should increase by about $1.75. Individual impacts will vary with use.
These rates apply to all customers on the Regulated Price Plan.
The current commodity price paid for residential and small commercial customers is set out in the chart below:
Winter
(Nov 1-2009 to April 30-2010) |
Up to 1,000 kWh |
Up to 750 kWh |
5.8 |
More than 1,000 kWh |
More than 750 kWh |
6.7 |
Summer
(May 1-2010 to Oct 31-2010) |
Up to 600 kWh |
Up to 750 kWh |
6.5 |
More than 600 kWh |
More than 750 kWh |
7.5 |
Time-of-Use Pricing
The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) has established special Time-of-Use electricity prices to provide
an incentive for consumers to shift their consumption away from periods when total consumption is high (“on-peak”)
to periods when demand for electricity is lower (“mid” or “off-peak”). These rates are
based on pricing trends in the electricity wholesale market, and they fluctuate, as their name indicates, depending
on when, during the day, electricity is consumed.
Many Local Distribution Companies across Ontario are currently in the process of implementing Time-of-Use
pricing. As these utilities start to offer Time-of-Use rates, Enbridge Electric will introduce these prices to
its customers.