If you are in Ontario - Look at the price of Green!

[mit]

I was looking at my electricity bill and noticed a charge called Provincial benefit. This use to be a few dollars a month charge but now it is around $30 month.
I went to the Independant Electricity Operator site www.ieso.ca for more info.
It seems that this charge is the difference between the set rate for electricty and what the market prices are.

What concerns me is that up until March 2009 this benefit averaged well below 1/2 cent per KW - now it is averages 3.5 cents a KW over and above the 5.6 cents per KW the regulated rate is. In effect we are paying 9.1 cents/KW for power.

It gets worse for me anyways. I signed up for an energy plan that guarantees me a 9.3 cent/kw rate for electricity through an energy marketing company (I was stupid) - The kicker is that I pay the 9.3 cent rate/KW plus the provincial benefit rate. In effect I am paying 12.8 cents/KW for electricity - I am not protected from increased electricty rates like I signed up for before the provincial benefit is separate from my metered electricty.

I have an email in to Mr Paul Murphy the CEO of theIndependant Electricity Operator to ask why the price spikein April 2009 - To my knowledge Nat.Gas has come down in price. Coal is likely the same or less. We have had higher water levels over Niagara - We have not had to buy out of province electricty lately - Why the 300% increase? - Could it be the new Green Power coming on line (I guess Niagara Falls was not green enough?) The high prices we pay for Wind and Solar projects are coming to bite us in the wallet.

Any body else notice this?

 

[Said1]

Rates are going up depending on the hour of usage, aren't they?

 

[mit]

Rates are going up depending on the hour of usage, aren't they?

Yes - Ontario is moving towards a Smart Meter system - Interestingly no one can tell me who pays for the smart meter - I also wonder what happens if they walk in to a 125 year old house like mine and deem the electrical system not up to code?

The Smart Meter system does not even have a system set up for billing - has not taken in to consideration those folks like myself with fixed price plans. It is another ball of wax that is going to burn consumers.

We pay a debt retirement charge - When it started the debt was 7 Billion dollars - Apparently our Conservative Government under Harris/Eves decided that we consumers should not pay the real price for electricty and subsidized us - The debt went to over 20 Billion - Don't worry we have a plan to pay it all off by 2020??

 

[mit]

Rates are going up depending on the hour of usage, aren't they?

Corrected version of Ontario Hydro debt retirement - from their website!
How much is the debt and how long must we continue to pay the debt retirement charge (DRC)?
In the years prior to restructuring in 1999, Ontario Hydro had borrowed money to build new generation plants and expand transmission and distribution networks. The interest and principal on this debt was to be paid by the revenues earned from the sale of electricity. The total amount of the debt left by the former Ontario Hydro, including other liabilities, was $38.1 billion. Of that total, $17.2 billion was assigned to Ontario Hydro's successor companies - Hydro One and Ontario Power Generation (OPG). The remaining $20.9 billion was defined as 'stranded' debt. This amount was later reduced by $1.5 billion through the transfer of other assets.
Responsibility for managing the stranded debt was assigned to the Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation (OEFC). Part of the net income of OPG and Hydro One goes toward paying the debt, as do payments in lieu of taxes by OPG, Hydro One and local distribution companies. On April 1, 1999, the stranded debt amounted to just over $19.4 billion. According to the OEFC's report for the year ended March 31, 2004, the debt increased to almost $20.6 billion. This increase was largely a result of the almost $1 billion cost of the 4.3 cents per kilowatt hour fixed price for electricity introduced by the previous government. The new pricing structure, which better reflects the true cost of electricity, provides OPG with a regulated price for its nuclear and baseload hydro generation. This will provide customers with more stable prices and improve the financial viability of OPG.
The debt retirement charge (DRC), which produces approximately $1 billion annually in revenue, is intended to contribute to paying off the debt that was not assumed by Hydro One and OPG. This 'residual' stranded debt was estimated to be $7.8 billion. The DRC will end when the residual stranded debt is paid off, which the OEFC estimates will occur between 2012 and 2020. DRC revenue is included each year in the OEFC's annual report. If you would like to know more about the status of the debt, you may wish to visit the OEFC website at www.oefc.on.ca to read its latest annual report.

 

[Said1]

I don't even want to hear about the DRC. Grrr. Boo. Hisssssssssssss.

 

[hermite]

Hey mit, Said1,

They've already installed the smart meters up here although they don't go into use until next year. They don't come into your house to do the install. I'm in an old, out of code place myself, no problem. Only takes a couple of minutes. Hydro website says the cost will be "absorbed." Yeah, right. :roll:

The idea of the smart meter system is that you run stuff like your washer and dryer between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. and the cost per kw will be half of what it is during the day. There is a chart on the website that shows how the prices will be broken down. So, how long before everyone will start running washers and dryers during those hours, turning them into peak hours, too? Wonder if they thought that out? :idea:

Mit, I'm really sorry you're stuck into one of those contracts. I almost got roped in myself, it sounded so good. But they were clear that I had 3 days to back out after I'd read the contract. Once I saw it on paper and did a little Googling, I said no way and was able to get out of it. They were getting into a spot of trouble around that time about their strong-arm tactics so I guess that was in my favour. And I just looked at my hydro bill, there is no Provincial benefit on it. I have a Delivery charge of $30, which really sucks when you only use $10 worth of hydro. And the DRC, grrr. I didn't borrow that money, why should I pay it back?

Sadly, this is just like the weather. We can sit around and complain about it but there's not a dang thing we can do about it. Except turn it off.
:smile:

 

[mit]

hermite - I was curious about the provincial benefit - It may be my utility is double charging me - Either way I am not happy.

 

[Niflmir]

I mean, not paying the actual price sounds too good to be true. At the very least, 13 cents a kWh is still pretty cheap in comparison to Germany, for instance.

It works in an interesting way here. First off, no matter what, you will pay for what you use. Then you estimate, based on your past usage, how much electricity you are likely to use. You then pay the monthly average amount. At the end of the year you either have to pay more if you used more or you get money back if you used less. Or if the price changes, for instance. The price doesn't fluctuate very much here. As far as I have seen.

 

[mit]

I mean, not paying the actual price sounds too good to be true. At the very least, 13 cents a kWh is still pretty cheap in comparison to Germany, for instance.

It works in an interesting way here. First off, no matter what, you will pay for what you use. Then you estimate, based on your past usage, how much electricity you are likely to use. You then pay the monthly average amount. At the end of the year you either have to pay more if you used more or you get money back if you used less. Or if the price changes, for instance. The price doesn't fluctuate very much here. As far as I have seen.

Yes we have it pretty cheap here compared to other countries - I am whining because I am paying more than my neighbour. I think I have been taken for a ride by my energy marketer or my utility - I just can't find out which one yet.

You describe what I have for my Nat Gas - Called a budget plan - Works well for me as it evens out my cash flow -

 

[taxslave]

Every time someone comes up with a socialist idea like not paying the full price of something you use up front the real cost comes back to bite you in the arse several times over. The dippers did it to us in B.C. and they whined when the Liberals finally rose hydro, tuition and car insurance rates to better reflect the true cost.

 

[thatone]

I had a friend bring this up the other day as well..