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
Pickering nuclear station is closing as planned, despite calls for refurbishment
PICKERING, ON - - The Ontario government will not reconsider plans to close the Pickering nuclear station and instead stop-gap the consequent electricity shortfall with natural gas-generated power in a move that will hike the province’s greenhouse gas emissions substantially in the coming years.
In a report released this week, a nuclear advocacy group urged Ontario to refurbish the aging facility east of Toronto, which is set to be shuttered in phases in 2024 and 2025. The closure of Pickering, which provides 14 per cent of the province’s annual electricity supply, comes at the same time as Ontario’s other two nuclear…
