The Ontario government announced March 24 that, for a period of 45 days, electricity prices for families, small businesses and farms paying time-of-use (TOU) rates will be held to the off-peak rate of 10.1 cents-per-kilowatt-hour throughout the 24-hour day. The discount will be applied automatically to electricity bills without the need for customers to fill out an application form. The government issued the instruction as an Emergency Order under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.
The government says, depending on billing cycles, some customers will see the changes on their next electricity bill. TOU customers whose billing cycle ended before their local distribution company implemented this change will receive the reduced rate as a credit on a future bill. The Ontario Electricity Rebate (OER) will continue to provide a 31.8 per cent rebate on the sub-total bill amount for all existing Regulated Price Plan (RPP) consumers.
The pricing change will not affect the way local electricity distributors settle with the IESO for wholesale services. The provincial government has indicated that it will reimburse electricity distributors directly for the difference. There are approximately five million residential consumers, farms and some small businesses billed using time-of-use (TOU) electricity prices under the RPP.
The Ontario Energy Board has also extended the winter ban on disconnections to July 31st.
APPrO, the Ontario Energy Association, Hydro One and other major utilities released statements supporting the change, recognizing the unique circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the provincial state of emergency. APPrO President Dave Butters said, “Ontarians should not be financially disadvantaged because they are following the direction of public health officials and staying home.”