OEB COVID-19 UPDATE - Rate Relief for Time-of-use and Tiered Regulated Price Plan Customers

Updated: May 30, 2020

Time-of-use rates: Introducing the COVID-19 Recovery Rate

The Government of Ontario has announced the COVID-19 Recovery Rate. With the COVID-19 Recovery Rate, customers paying time-of-use rates for electricity will pay a fixed rate of 12.8 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity starting June 1, 2020 until October 31, 2020, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Customers do not need do anything in order to receive the COVID-19 Recovery Rate. The rate will automatically be applied to qualifying customer bills.

For more information, read the Government’s news release.

Regulated Price Plan Customers

To provide greater price stability for small business customers who pay tiered Regulated Price Plan electricity rates, the Ontario Energy Board is keeping the prices set in November, 2019 in place after May 1, 2020.

Learn more about the other options available to support customers during the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

General Service <50 kW Electricity Rates

Your electricity bill is made up of delivery charges, distribution charges, regulatory charges and electricity charges. All but the distribution charges are collected on behalf of other parties. Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro retains only the distribution charges.

Below are our current electricity rates for small business customers.

Electricity Charges

The electricity charge of your bill is calculated using rates which are determined by the Ontario Energy Board. The most recent rates are listed in the table below.

For customers paying time-of-use rates: 

For electricity consumed between November 1, 2019 and March 23, 2020:

Tiered Regulated Price Plan Rates

Note: Due to COVID-19, as part of the effort to provide greater price stability for small business customers who pay tiered Regulated Price Plan electricity rates, the Ontario Energy Board is keeping the prices set in November, 2019 in place after May 1, 2020.

If your business is not on time-of-use pricing, the tiered Regulated Price Plan (RPP) pricing is listed below.

For consumption as of November 1, 2019:

• First 750 kWh/month: 11.9ȼ/kWh
• Remaining kWh/month: 13.9ȼ/kWh

Ontario Electricity Rebate

Effective November 1, 2019 the Government of Ontario introduced a new electricity rebate called the Ontario Electricity Rebate (OER). The OER is a 31.8% on-bill rebate for households, multi-unit complexes, farms, long-term care homes, and many small businesses.

The 31.8% OER applies to the cost of electricity consumed as of November 1, 2019. Customers who received bills with consumption before and after November 1, 2019 will see both the 8% Provincial Rebate and the 31.8% OER on their electricity bills.

If your electricity account is included in the list below please submit a declaration form before January 31, 2020.  By submitting a completed form by January 31, 2020, customers who:

• Are eligible for the OER will continue to receive the rebate uninterrupted
• Are not eligible for the OER will receive the rebate until October 31, 2020

Failure to complete and submit the form by January 31, 2020 will result in a discontinuation of the OER for your account as of February 1, 2020, regardless of eligibility. 

Customers who must submit a declaration form in order to continue to receive the OER after January 31, 2020 are:  

1. Business customers currently receiving the 8% Provincial Rebate
2. Multi-Unit Complexes
3. Farms
4. Long-Term Care Homes

For more information about the OER, please visit https://www.ontario.ca/page/changes-your-electricity-bill

Delivery Charges

These charges are set by Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro and are approved by the Ontario Energy Board to cover the cost of maintaining the highly efficient electricity distribution system in Kitchener and Wilmot Township, including 24/7 emergency services, infrastructure such as poles, wires, meters, transformers, substations, and our local customer service centre. Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro has one of the lowest delivery charges in the province.

Below are our delivery and service charges for small businesses effective January 1, 2020. 

Regulatory Charges

Loss Adjustment

Some electricity is lost along the lines on its way to your business. Some electricity charges and transmission charges may be subject to loss adjustment factors. These are known as "line losses." 

Electricity Retailers

Customers who have a contract with a retailer will be billed the electricity rates agreed to in the terms and conditions of the contract they have signed, which may be different than the time-of-use rates set by the province because they do not include global adjustment charges. Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro is not a party to these contracts and only invoices the amount as directed by the retailer. Learn more about your rights when it comes to electricity contracts.

Specific Service Charges

Outside of electricity consumption charges, customers may be subject to other service charges, as follows:

Customer Administration

Non-Payment of Account

Other

Definitions and Explanations of Charges

Electricity Charges

Electricity use is billed in kilowatt hours (kWh), which is a measure of energy used over time. For example, if you use a 1,000 watt microwave for one hour, you used 1,000 watt-hours – or one kWh.

You pay for electricity based on when you use electricity in each of the three time-of-use periods: on-peak, mid-peak, and off-peak. Time-of-use rates are set twice each year by the Ontario Energy Board, on May 1 and November 1. Electricity charges are collected by Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro and paid directly to electricity suppliers. Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro does not keep any of these charges.

Time-of-use rates are based on provincial demand for electricity.

• On-peak pricing is highest because that is when provincial demand for electricity is highest.
• Off-peak pricing is lowest because that is when provincial demand for electricity is lowest.

Provincial "peak" electricity use changes in summer and winter.

• In summer, provincial electricity use is typically highest in the middle of the day, when air conditioners are working hardest.
• In winter, provincial electricity use is typically highest at the beginning of the day, when people and businesses are waking up and turning on lights, appliances, and machinery, and at the end of the day, when families return home and turn on lights and appliances for the evening.

For more information about time-of-use pricing, visit the Ontario Energy Board website. 

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Delivery Charges

Delivery is the cost of bringing electricity from generation stations to your home or business. Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro’s distribution charges are included in this portion of your bill.

Electricity Usage Adjustment Factor

• An energy adjustment applied to the total amount of electricity used during the billing period to account for the line losses in the electricity system that are not measured by your meter. When electricity is delivered over a power line, it is normal for a small amount of power to be lost as heat. Line losses are an unavoidable part of delivering electricity. The adjustment factor is approved by the Ontario Energy Board and is reviewed regularly as part of the rate setting process.

Distribution Service Charge

• This is a fixed or variable monthly charge that covers the costs associated with meter reading, billing, customer service, account maintenance, and general utility operations. 
  

Transmission Connection

• The transmission connection charge covers the cost of connecting Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro’s distribution system to Hydro One’s transmission lines, as well as the cost of transforming electricity from high transmission voltages to lower voltages for distribution. This charge is applied against your total energy in kWh.

Transmission Network Charge

• The transmission network charge covers the cost of delivering the electricity from the generating stations to the region through Hydro One’s transmission system. This charge is collected on behalf of Hydro One. This charge is applied against your total energy in kWh.

Smart Meter Entity

• The charge paid to cover the cost of services provided by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) for the implementation and operation of the province’s Meter Data Management/Repository, which stores, validates and manages hourly electricity information transmitted by smart meters.

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Energy Charges

Energy charges are made up of the sum of on-peak, mid-peak, and off-peak measured energy in kWh multiplied by the applicable time-of-use rate. Electricity charges are collected by Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro and paid directly to electricity suppliers. Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro does not keep any of these charges.

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Regulatory Charges

Regulatory charges include the cost of services required to operate the electricity system and run the wholesale electricity market. The Ontario Energy Board sets these charges.

Wholesale Market Service

• The wholesale market service charge covers the cost of services provided by the IESO to operate the wholesale electricity market and maintain the reliability of the high voltage power grid and certain costs incurred by local utilities to connect renewable generation.

Standard Supply Administration Charge

• The standard supply admininstration charge covers a portion of a utility’s administrative costs to provide electricity bills to customers that receive an invoice directly from the utility (i.e. customers that are not billed by a retailer). This charge is set by the Ontario Energy Board and is the same for all utilities across the province.

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Global Adjustment

Global adjustment (GA) covers the cost of building new electricity infrastructure in the province, as well as delivering Ontario's conservation programs. It is calculated by the IESO and embedded in the time-of-use rates on your bill. If you have a contract with an energy retailer, you are billed global adjustment in addition to your energy costs. GA is calculated each month and is billed on your total kilowatt hour use. Learn more about how the GA is calculated

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Hourly Ontario Energy Price

The Hourly Ontario Energy Price is the market hourly rate that is calculated by the IESO. 

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