Ontario electricity bills are the new weather.
Most expensive power bills in Ontario for 1,000 kWh
These are the ten most expensive local distribution bills in Ontario, including HST,according to data pulled from the Ontario Energy Board’s bill calculator.
Hydro One (low density): $258.82
Hydro One (medium density): $226.58
Algoma Power Inc.: $222.68
Atikokan Hydro Inc.: $209.62
Innpower Corporation: $205.76
Toronto Hydro: $205.61
Wellington North Power Inc.: $204.50
Erie Thames Powerlines Corporation: $202.74
Hydro 2000 Inc. (Alfred, Ontario): $202.25
Sioux Lookout Hydro Inc.: $202.10
Everyone loves to talk about how high theirs is, how their respective utility must be the worst, most expensive in the province. But not everyone can have the highest bills in Ontario.
So who really pays the most?
It’s likely no surprise that Hydro One’s customers pay the most, thanks in large part to the cost of transmission to remote areas. Low-density customers pay $258.82 with HST for 1,000 kWh of power, medium-density consumers pay $226.58 for the same, according to data pulled from the Ontario Energy Board’s bill calculator on Oct. 25. (Hydro One consumers are categorized by the utility depending on their area to account for the cost of transmitting power long distances.)
People in Algoma and Atikokan have the next highest rates, paying $222.68 and $209.62 respectively with HST for 1,000 kWh of power. Innpower customers in the Innisfil area north of Toronto have the fifth most expensive bills. They would cough up $205.76 for the same amount of electricity after tax.
And residents of the country’s largest city might be surprised to learn they pay just pennies less than those in Innisfil for a bill of 1,000 kilowatt hours (kWH). That means Toronto Hydro is the sixth-most expensive power company in the province despite enjoying mass density. And given the recent discussion of its aging infrastructure, there’s a good chance those rates will climb even further.
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Customers of Hawkesbury Hydro east of Ottawa enjoy the cheapest rates in the province, paying $173.74 with HST for 1,000kWh of power. E.L.K. Energy Inc. in Essex charges the second leastL: $174.24 with HST for 1,000kWh of power. Thunder Bay Hydro Electricity Distribution Inc. comes third, with a 1,000 kWH bill costing $174.24 with tax.
Least expensive power bills in Ontario for 1,000 kWh
These are the ten least expensive local distribution bills in Ontario, including HST, according to data pulled from the Ontario Energy Board’s bill calculator.
Hydro Hawkesbury Inc.: $173.74
E.L.K Energy Inc. (Essex) : $174.24
Thunder Bay Hydro Electricity Distribution Inc.: $177.81
PUC Distribution Inc. (Sault Ste. Marie): $178.26
Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro Inc.: $178.38
Niagara-on-the-Lake Hydro Inc.: $179.35
Kingston Hydro Corporation: $180.53
Energy Plus Inc. (Cambridge and North Dumfries): $180.53
PowerStream Inc. (Barrie): $182.17
Ottawa River Power Corporation: $182.29
There are over 80 local distribution companies in Ontario, and over half charge between $180 and $195 for 1,000kWh of power, so most consumers are paying around the same amount. But the outliers are what cause tensions, with people going to the media saying their neighbours down the street in a different utility enjoy much cheaper rates. The difference between a rural Hydro One customer and one in Hawkesbury, both of who used 1,000 kWh, is $85.05, or $1020.96 a year, respectively. (Three communities, in Woodstock and Norfolk and Haldimand Counties, have seen their LDC absorbed by Hydro One, and are currently paying a slightly lower rate that will be phased out over time).
The above map lets you explore each local distribution company (LDC) and what it charges for a 1,000 kWh of monthly usage before and after HST are added. (The eight per cent provincial portion of that tax will be rebated starting next year).
The large swaths of the province not covered by an LDC are either Hydro One customers, Crown land or remote First Nations communities that aren’t connected to the grid (or use a power company too small to map). Rates fluctuate in Ontario with time-of-day pricing. All figures in this map are based on average usage throughout the day.
While 1,000 kWh is fairly heavy power usage, likely representing a larger single-family home, the figure was selected because it’s the number Hydro Quebec uses to compare that province’s rates to the rest of the country.
It’s also not out of bounds. For customers angry about their summer hydro bills, they should note Toronto Hydro says a normal 2.5 tonne central conditioning unit — a pretty average size — gobbles 1,050 kilowatts hours in just one month. A fridge, by comparison, uses just 75 kWh in a month, a ceiling fan 12 kWh.
But Ontario consumers are right to be riled about their bills. They pay some of the highest rates in Canada; however, in a North American context, they’re doing OK. The below map shows how major cities across the continent compare and is based on numbers from Hydro Quebec’s annual report comparing electricity rates across the continent. (The numbers in the below map are based on Hydro Quebec’s annual comparison of electricity prices. The document uses figures from April 2016, so the numbers for Ottawa and Toronto may vary slightly.)
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