Off-peak rates to drop slightly

ONTARIO - Householders who buy their electricity direct from utilities will see their monthly power costs decline by one to three dollars, starting November 1.

The Ontario Energy Board has eased prices slightly for consumers who donÂ’t buy their power from energy retailers.

Households on tiered pricing will pay 6.4 cents a kilowatt hour kwh for the first 1,000 kwh they use each month, and 7.4 cents a kwh for power above that amount. Both prices are down 0.1 cents per kwh from the current level.

The energy board estimates the new rates will save a household that used 800 kwh a month about $2.80 monthly, or 2.6 per cent of their current bill.

Households on time-of-use pricing, who now make up about 20 per cent of the total, will also get a price break.

The off-peak rate will dip 0.2 cents a kwh to 5.1 cents the mid-peak price drops 0.1 cent to 8.1 cents and the peak price remains steady at 9.9 cents.

The energy board estimates a typical household will save $1.21 a month, or 1.1 per cent.

When prices were last changed six months ago, the energy board had narrowed the gap between peak and off-peak prices, drawing criticism that it was decreasing the incentive for consumers to change their behaviour.

Consumers were also whacked with an 8 per cent increase last May when the HST was applied to electricity bills.

The lower prices come despite projections of higher prices on the wholesale electricity market.

But the energy board says high power demand during the summer helped produce extra cash.