The Ontario government's electricity rate relief ends Feb. 22 and electricity prices for households and small businesses return to those set by the Ontario Energy Board for Jan. 1. This change is effective Feb. 23, under the Regulated Price Plan.

The RPP prices have been lowered to reflect a significant change in the cost of supplying electricity to RPP customers. Specifically, a portion of renewable energy contract costs currently funded by electricity ratepayers will now be funded by the Ontario Government. This initiative was announced as part of the 2020 Ontario Budget, and a new regulation has been made to support the initiative. 

The Government is also decreasing the Ontario Electricity Rebate (OER) from 33.2 per cent to 21.2 per cent effective January 1, 2021. The Government’s intention is that, for residential and small business customers, the reduction in the electricity price will be offset by the change in the OER. The OER is a total pre-tax credit that appears at the bottom of electricity bills. As a result of lower RPP prices and the reduced OER, typical residential customer bills will be held stable (against pre-electricity rate relief prices). The typical residential RPP customer uses 700 kWh of electricity per month.

The new TOU prices set by the OEB are shown below. The table also shows the hours to which those prices apply.

The below shows the new prices for customers paying Tiered prices:

Help for customers

If you are concerned about paying your bill, please contact us to extend payment arrangements. Contact our credit department using our online payment assistance form.  A member of our team will review your request and respond by email or phone call, as quickly as possible. Alternatively, you can call us at 613-546-1181, ext. 2278, Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 4:30 PM. 

There are a number of programs in place to support electricity customers at this time, including:

• The OER, introduced in November 2019 by the Government of Ontario, provides a rebate on the pre-tax amount of the total bill.
• Support for residential, small business and charitable organization customers that are struggling to pay their energy bills as a result of the pandemic is available through the COVID-19 Energy Assistance Program and COVID-19 Energy Assistance Program for Small Business funded by the Government of Ontario. 
• There are also a number of programs available to help low-income consumers. Find out more.

More information from the Ontario Energy Board

• Read the OEB news release.  
• Learn more about the COVID-19 Energy Assistance programs.
• Find out about low-income bill payment support programs.
• Learn more about customer choice for TOU customers.
• Learn more about how Ontario is keeping your electricity bill stable.

Did you know?

• You can refer to the MyUtilities customer portal to view your household usage of water, electricity and gas. Use the information to shift your electricity use to off-peak times when it costs less.
• Kingston Hydro electricity customers receive their bill through Utilities Kingston. Many benefit from the convenience of one combined bill for all their utility services, which may also include water, wastewater and gas. A combined bill helps lower costs for all rate payers. Learn more about your electricity bill, including TOU pricing.