TORONTO - Most electricity rates in Ontario will go down marginally for the winter months, except for mid-peak prices which will rise slightly, but the winter schedule also means more on-peak hours with maximum rates every morning and afternoon.
The Ontario Energy Board announced Monday that the electricity price would drop from 5.3 cents per kilowatt hour to 5.1 cents starting Nov. 1 for off-peak hours, from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. Monday to Friday and all day weekends and holidays.
Premier Dalton McGuinty admitted last month that there was not enough of a price difference between the peak rate of 9.9 cents per kilowatt hour and the old off-peak rate of 5.3 cents to encourage people to change their behaviour.
More than four million smart meters have been installed in Ontario homes to let people take advantage of time-of-use pricing to help lower their electricity bills, but fewer than one million have actually switched over to the new pricing scheme, said Energy Minister Brad Duguid.
"This was a very modest adjustment, and I think the Ontario Energy Board is looking into this in more detail in terms of conducting a thorough study and some consultation with Ontarians," said Duguid.
"We recognize that had they moved greater in terms of the differential between peak and off-peak use, it may have provided more incentive for people to shift. But we need to make sure we're also striking a balance so that those that cannot shift their usage are not unduly injured by this."
The opposition parties were not impressed with the small adjustment in the off-peak rate.
"The problem with Dalton McGuinty's time-of-use smart meters is they've turned into nothing more than tax machines," said Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak.
"It's not good news when consumers are already seeing bills skyrocket, and we all know they're going to go up much more because of Dalton McGuinty's expensive energy experiments."
People don't want more "tinkering on their hydro bills," they want a real break, said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.
"This is not going to provide the kind of relief that families need and the way the government can provide that relief is simply taking the HST off of the hydro bills," said Horwath.
"They can study and tinker all they want but people are going to be freezing in Ontario because they're not going to be able to afford their bills."
The OEB announced the mid-peak rate will rise from 8.0 to 8.1 cents per kWh, and there will be two fewer hours of that rate each day as mid-peak switches to 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily.
The on-peak rate will remain at 9.9 cents per kilowatt hour and on-peak hours expand to eight hours a day from six, and run from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays.
People still on tiered pricing will see electricity prices drop by 0.1 cents per kilowatt hour to 6.4 cents for the first 1,000 kWh used each month during the winter, and 7.4 cents for every kWh above that threshold.
The energy board sets regulated prices every six months for people who purchase power from their local utilities and at the same time adjusts the hours for time-of-use pricing for the season. People who purchase electricity from private suppliers get fixed rates for the duration of their contracts and are not affected by the OEB's regulated price plan.
