Current Ontario Electricity Rules. | The government has changed the price cap. For Designated Consumers (see definition below), the price will only be capped at 4.7 cents/kWh for the first 750 kWh per month, per account, and 5.5 cents for remaining monthly use. This price will be in effect until the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) devises a pricing system and regulatory regime called "a regulated stable rate system that will reflect the real cost of electricity". This may be similar to the system used for natural gas in which rates are set every 3 months based on market forecasts. The OEB has a deadine of May 1, 2005 to do this work. Customers not previously eligible for the price cap are not affected and will remain subject to the open market. |
- "Designated Consumers" are residential users, any account under 250,000 kWh per year, municipalities, universities, schools, hospitals, special care facilities, apartments, condominiums and registered charities.
- Low Volume and Designated consumers received a refund on commodity costs above 4.3 cents retroactive to May 1, 2002. This refund was given whether or not a fixed price contract had been signed.
- If you are a low volume or designated consumer, and sign a contract after Dec 9, 2002, you forego the capped price.
- The calculation of the MPMA rebate has been changed. See details below
- The PST rebate on energy efficient appliances, as defined by the regulations and measured by the Energy Star labelling system, has been extended.
- There are also a number of questions about the application of the new rates with businesses that signed a contract prior to the market changes in Nov/02 that is at a lower rate than the 5.5 cent rate that will apply after April 1/04. Do they get to choose? Can they move back and forth from their contract to the regulated rate? The answer to these question is, "We don't know yet".
- Multi-residential complexes create a bit of a problem under the new rules. since the application of the lower price for the first 750 kWh per month is based on each account, buildings with individually metered suites will receive advantageous treatment compared with bulk metered buildings. This is under discussion at the moment.
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| Rebates and Refunds - Where do you fit?
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| If you have a facility that was eligible for the price cap. You will have received a refund of any cost you paid in excess of 4.3 cents for the period of May 1/02 to Jan 31/03 (or until your utility switched you to 4.3 cents). This would have been paid first through a $75 cheque, then the rest through a credit on your bill. You no longer receive the MPMA rebate because that facility is under the rate cap.
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| If your facility is not eligible for the rate cap, and you have not signed away your rebate through a contract. You get the MPMA rebate. This applies whether or not you signed a contract (as long as that contract didn't require you to sign away the rebate). You should have received a rebate equaling 1.241 cents per kWh for all electricity used between May 1, 2002 and April 30, 2003. The rebate would have been paid by the utility if you were not under contract, and through the marketer if you were. The credit on your bill for the May1/02-Jan31/03 period would have appeared in April/May. After that, you would have, and will be receiving a rebate credit quarterly, until May 1 2006. The amount per kWh will be different each time.
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| If your facility is not eligible for the rate cap, but you DID sign away your rebate through a contract. You don't get the MPMA rebate. If that contract is with Direct Energy, most of them include a 10% rebate at the end of each contract year.
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Designated consumers includes the following. Receipt of the cap is not automatic. Some facilities have to apply to get it:
o A dwelling
o A property as defined in the Condominium Act, 1998
o A residential complex as defined in the Tenant
Protection Act, 1997
o A co-op with one or more dwelling
o Any approved charity as defined by the Charitable
Institutions Act
o Any home defined by the Homes for Special Care Act
o Any business that uses 250,000 kWh per year or less
Property, as defined in the Condominium Act:
"property" means the land, including the buildings on it, and interests appurtenant to the land, as the land and interests are described in the description and includes all land and interests appurtenant to land that are added to the common elements;
Residential Complex as defined in the Tenant Protection Act
"residential complex" means,
(a) a building or related group of buildings in which one or more rental units are located,
(b) a mobile home park or land lease community,
(c) a site that is a rental unit,
(d) a care home, and
includes all common areas and services and facilities available for the use of its residents;
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| MPMA Rebate | | | | Consumers not eligible for the price cap will receive a rebate, called the MPMA rebate (Market Power Mitigation Agreement), or sometimes called the OPG rebate (Ontario Power Generation). This is payable to all consumers of electricity except those who have specifically assigned it to a marketer, and those receiving the capped price. It is 50% of the difference between the average spot market price (5.8 cents to date) and the revenue cap placed on OPG of 3.8 cents and will last until May 2006. | |
