Ontario government boosts electricity rebate to ease household burdens

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The average Ontario family will see its electricity bill drop by about $310 a year, thanks to an increase in the electricity rebate from the province.

As of Nov. 1, 2023, the Ontario government is increasing the Ontario Electricity Rebate (OER) from 11.7 per cent to 19.3 per cent. This comes in an effort to reduce electricity costs for families and small businesses and should save the average household around $310 a year.

The rebate is given to eligible customers, including households, farms, long-term care homes and small businesses. As of Nov. 1 last year (2022), the rebate was around 11.7 per cent - a stark difference from the high of 33.2 per cent that was dropped to 17.0 per cent on Nov. 1, 2021.

This recent bump gets customers back up into a more comfortable range, said France Fournier, head of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce. She expressed gratitude for the government’s decision, noting the “initiatives will assist businesses as they navigate through these challenging economic times.”

This rebate will automatically show up on bills as a separate line item for most customers. At the time this change is set to take effect, the Ontario Energy Board is rolling out winter Time-of-Use (TOU) hours and changing the threshold for residential customers on Tiered pricing which will take effect as of Wednesday (Nov. 1) next week. 

Information on the new rates as of next week can be found here.

Communications director at OEC, Annie Pétrin outlined the following advice for homeowners  and small businesses when it comes to electricity costs:

  1. Usage & consumption pattern – Customers should consider how much electricity they use in a month and when. This detailed information is available through MyOakvilleHydro (which can be accessed at this link: https://myaccount.oakvillehydro.com/).
  2. Don't guess, calculate – Power is personal. Depending on how much electricity a customer uses and when it is used, one price plan may be more suitable than the others. This calculator allows customers to see what their total bill would look like under Time-of-Use (TOU), Ultra-Low Overnight (ULO) and Tiered prices.
  3. Small businesses – For small business owners, some of the same factors mentioned above apply, keeping in mind that the Tier threshold for small business customers is 750 kWh all year round.