For the first time in nearly a decade, the price residential customers pay for electricity in Ontario is not going up.
In a statement released late last week, the province’s energy regulator, the Ontario Energy Board (OEB), announced its most recent price review showed that consumers in the province are paying enough to cover the costs of producing electricity in Ontario.
“The prices set last May are still in line with the updated forecast cost of supply, enabling us to keep time-of-use prices level for the next six months,” said Ceiran Bishop, manager of supply and infrastructure at the OEB.
What this means is the price per kilowatt-hour that appears on residential electricity bills in Ontario will not change until at least April 30, 2017.
The OEB decision came on the same day Ontario’s Energy Minister, Glenn Thibeault, announced the provincial government had passed legislation to remove the provincial portion of the HST from residential electricity bills in Ontario effective Jan. 1, 2017.
In total, the new legislation will affect more than five million residential customers in Ontario and is expected to cost the government upwards of $1 billion annually in lost tax revenue. According to government estimates, consumers can expect to save roughly $11 a month — or a little more than $130 a year — as a result of the legislation.
“The government recognizes the need to do more to ensure an affordable energy system for everyone and is committed to providing electricity rate relief that will benefit ratepayers in a meaningful way,” Thibeault said.
These moves come amid growing frustration over rising energy costs in Ontario. In addition to these decisions, the government has also announced the cancelation of pending renewable energy projects and plans to purchase significant amounts of hydro electricity from Quebec as a way of cutting costs.