Hydro One has implemented three rate increases on our bills as of May 1, 2010. These increases will add roughly 8 per cent to the cost of the electricity itself, as well as a 7.9 per cent increase for the Dryden area in delivery fees, as well as an additional “special purpose charge” of approximately $4 per year. This is all on top of the HST that will add another 8 per cent.
“Economists say it will add about $400 per year to the average person’s hydro bill, but one of the realities of living in northwestern Ontario, is that your hydro bills are actually already higher than they would be in other parts of the province,” says Kenora-Rainy River MPP, Howard Hampton.
With Hydro One implementing the Time-of-Use (TOU) meters, coined “the smart meter”, rates can rise even higher at certain times of day. Rate prices, although set by the Ontario Energy Board, will fluctuate with the smart meter, and will have peak and off peak times. Dryden is due to receive the TOUs in late 2010 or early 2011.
“I would never call them smart meters,” says Hampton. “There is nothing smart about them.”
All holidays and weekends will be charged the off-peak price, which is 5.3 cents per kWh. May 1 to October 31, 9 pm to 7 am will be off peak, 7am to 11 am and 5 pm to 9 pm will be mid-peak, at a rate of 8.0 cents per kWh. 11 am to 5 pm will be charged at on-peak price, which is 9.9 cents per kWh.
The rates for Nov. 1 to April 30 will be set at 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. as off-peak, 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. as on-peak, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. as mid-peak.
“When you add in the actual cost of the meter, and the technology and the computing systems behind them, it’s probably going to be in the range of $2 billion, so that has to be added to the hydro bill,” claims Hampton.
With the cost of Hydro increasing, some people are turning to the options of the door-to-door electricity marketers. They offer a locked in rate, for a term of usually five years.
Hampton feels this is a huge mistake on the part of the residents, and strongly wants to deter people from signing contracts with them.
“We find people who have signed contracts with these door to door electricity marketers, their hydro bills are often double what everyone else’s hydro bill will be,” laments Hampton. “My advice to people, is when they see one, slam the door in their face. They are the most deceitful, manipulative, deceptive people.”
Some ideas to help with the rising costs in the average household, are to get rid of that old beer fridge in your garage, and replace any old major appliances. Other options are removing electric heat sources and substituting for natural gas or wood.
With many computers, televisions, gaming systems, they all continually use electricity, even when powered down due to the instant-on features they possess. If all of these products are plugged into power bars, the ease of turning off the power bar when not in use can save you time and money in the long run.
“I disagree fundamentally about most of what this government has done on the electricity front,” says Hampton. “What really has to happen is a different electricity policy for Ontario.”
- Ally Dunham
