Changes coming to electricity time-of-use prices and periods

Utilities Kingston customers should expect a some changes on their next bill due to electricity prices for households and small businesses set by the Ontario Energy Board.

The changes – which are “out of Utilities Kingston’s control” – are the result of the Ontario Energy Board changing time-of-use electricity prices and periods, according to Utilities Kingston. These changes will affect all electricity providers, not just Utilities Kingston.

“The Ontario Energy Board reviews this twice annually, for May 1 and November 1 implementation,” Utilities Kingston said in an email.

“The total bill for a typical residential customer who uses 700 kWh per month will increase by about $1.99 or 1.8% per cent, which is in line with the rate of inflation.”

The new prices will come into effect on Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, and the winter time-of-use (TOU) hours will also take effect that date. According to the Ontario Energy Board, the changes are a result of:

• With changes in legislation, prices on the electricity line are increasing so that they once again closely reflect the forecast cost of supply. As well, the increase in prices reflects the fact that the forecast cost of supply has gone up relative to what it was on May 1, 2019, due in part to refurbishment of nuclear facilities and new generation facilities coming online.

• The Ontario government has introduced an expanded rebate (the Ontario Electricity Rebate) providing bill relief that will be applied to customer bills, largely offsetting the price changes on the Electricity line. The Ontario Electricity Rebate of 31.8 per cent replaces the eight per cent provincial rebate, and applies to consumption on and after November 1.

The following table shows the TOU prices set by the Ontario Energy Board for November 1 as compared to the previous rate. The TOU price periods are:

• Off-peak: Weekdays 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., and all day weekends and holidays
• Mid-peak: Weekdays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• On-peak: Weekdays 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Note: The May 1 prices include old bill relief and the November 1 price are excluding the new bill relief