Winter Electricity Pricing in Effect just in time for Winter’s Whallop!

Turn off the air conditioning and crank up the heat…winter is coming. According to the Farmers Almanac, a trusted source for weather predictions for over 200 years; in Canada, we can expect a season full of snow, snow and more snow. Nearly all of Canada should expect above-average precipitation this winter, much of it falling as snow and wet snow. No fewer than eight major snowstorms are predicted mainly in mid- to late January across Atlantic Canada and Southern Ontario.

As of November 1^st, 2019, and lasting until April 30^th, 2020 Winter Time of Use and Tiered Electricity Pricing is in effect.

According to the Ontario Energy Board (OEB), the total bill for a typical residential customer who uses 700 kWh per month will increase by about $1.99 or 1.8%, which is in line with the rate of inflation.

For Time of Use residents, on-peak period is now weekdays from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and the price is 20.8¢kWh. In the summer you were paying 13.4¢kWh for on-peak usage. Mid-peak period is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and costs 14.4¢kWh and off peak, as always, is from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. and has gone up by 4¢ from the summer to 10.1¢kWh.

There is less sunlight in the winter therefore residents turn on their lights and use more appliances in the winter when they arrive home from work between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. It is also darker in the morning times hence why both of these time segments become the on-peak period.

Many of Priority Submetering’s customers are on a tiered electricity pricing plan. This winter residents can use up to 1,000 kWh of electricity a month at the rate of 11.9¢kWh. After they reach the 1,000-kWh mark, the price increases to 13.9¢kWh for the rest of the month. The electricity usage is reset to zero at the beginning of each month encouraging residents to stay under the 1,000-kWh usage threshold.

Similarly, non-residential customers can be on a tiered electricity pricing plan. For the first 750-kWh of electricity used by non-residential customers they will pay the same 11.9¢kWh. Any usage above 750 kWh will be charged at 13.9¢kW.

If you don’t know what Winter’s Whallop is, check out the Farmers Almanac winter forecast here: https://www.almanac.com/old-farmers-almanac-2020-winter-forecast Be sure to bust out all the sweaters you own to layer up instead of heating up your home this season.

Another statement by the Ontario government and the OEB includes sound reasoning for the rise in pricing:

• 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 total bill impact for individual customers across the province may vary depending on the customer’s electricity usage and the utility that serves them.