Ontario prepares to extend disconnect moratoriums for residential electricity customers
TORONTO -
The Ontario government is preparing to announce relief for residential electricity users struggling because of the COVID-19 emergency, according to sources.
Sources close to those discussions say a decision has been made to lengthen the existing five-month disconnect moratorium by an additional three months.
News releases about the moratorium extension are currently being drafted and are expected to be released shortly.
Electricity utilities in Ontario are currently prohibited from disconnecting residential customers for non-payment during the winter period from November 15 to April 30.
The province is also looking at providing further relief by adjusting time-of-use prices, which are designed to encourage shifting of energy use away from periods of high total consumption to periods of low demand.
But that would require Ontario Energy Board approval and no decision has been finalized, our sources advise.
Related News
Bitcoin mining uses so much electricity that 1 city could curtail facility's power during heat waves
MEDICINE HAT - On the day of the grand opening of the largest bitcoin mining project in the country, the weather was partly cloudy and 15 C. On a Friday afternoon like this one, the new facility uses as much electricity as all of Medicine Hat, Alta., a city of more than 60,000 people and home to several large industrial plants.
The vast amount of electricity needed for bitcoin mining is why the city of Medicine Hat has championed the economic benefits of the project, while environmentalists say they are wary of the significant energy use.
Toronto-based Hut 8 has spent more…
