Electricity going up May 1st

News Release
OEB

Today the Ontario Energy Board released Regulated Price Plan (RPP) electricity commodity prices that take effect May 1, 2012.
RPP prices are reviewed twice each year and appear on the “Electricity” line of residential and small business consumer bills. The price changes only apply to RPP-eligible consumers who buy electricity directly from their local utility.
Time-of-use (TOU) prices are changing as follows:
On-peak (from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays) = 11.7 ¢/kWh (up 0.9 cents)
Mid-peak (from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays) = 10.0 ¢/kWh (up 0.8 cents)
Off-peak (from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays and all day on weekends and holidays) = 6.5 ¢/kWh (up 0.3 cents)
The price change for consumers on TOU pricing is an increase of approximately $3.99 on the “Electricity” line, or about 3.3% on the total monthly bill, for a residential consumer with a typical consumption pattern who uses 800 kWh per month.
Residential consumers typically consume about 64% of their electricity during off-peak hours, and about 18% in each of mid-peak and on-peak hours.
As of February 29, 2012, there were about 3.9 million (81%) residential and small business customers on TOU billing. The remaining customers are expected to be switched to TOU from tiered prices by mid 2012.
Consumers who are not yet paying TOU prices pay tiered prices, which are changing as follows:
For consumption up to the tier threshold (Tier 1 prices): 7.5 ¢/kWh (up 0.4 cents)
For consumption above the tier threshold (Tier 2 prices): 8.8 ¢/kWh (up 0.5 cents)
On May 1, the threshold below which the lower Tier 1 price applies will change from 1,000 kWh to 600 kWh per month for residential consumers. For non-residential consumers, the threshold stays at 750 kWh throughout the year.
The price change for consumers paying tiered prices is an increase of approximately $5.80 on the “Electricity” line, or about 5.1% on the total monthly bill, for a consumer using 800 kWh per month.
Prices are changing principally because the forecast supply cost is changing. As coal generation continues to decline, it is being replaced with natural gas, nuclear and renewable generation. This includes refurbished units at the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station along with more wind and solar generation.
use (TOU) and tiered RPP prices are set to recover the total cost of supply, regardless of which of these prices