Hydro Ottawa seeks rate increase
Typical home’s bill would go up about $1 per month
Hydro Ottawa has applied for a 2014 rate increase that would add just over a dollar a month to the cost of electricity for residential customers if approved by the Ontario Energy Board.
In an application filed Aug. 17, Hydro Ottawa asked for a 1.68 per cent increase in its distribution charges, which make up nearly one-quarter of the average residential electricity bill. Including increases in transmission charges, overall delivery charges would rise nearly three per cent.
Based on consumption of 800 kilowatt hours a month, typical residential hydro bills in Ottawa would increase to $116.87 a month from the current $115.83, Hydro Ottawa said.
The proposed increase is based on inflationary increases minus savings achieved through productivity gains, said Jane Scott, Hydro Ottawa’s manager of rates and revenue.
She said the numbers in the utility’s application will likely change once the OEB calculates the actual inflation and productivity numbers for the year, but “we expect them to be in the same range.”
Last month, Hydro Ottawa applied to the OEB for permission to replace more than half of its 313,000 smart meters at a cost of $2.5 million. The older Rex 1 meters were installed from 2006 to 2008, and lack features found in newer devices.
In its OEB application, Hydro Ottawa said the Rex 1 meters are only able retain information for 23 days, compared to 230 days for the newer Rex 2 version, and don’t have “last gasp” functionality for restoration after power outages.
The proposed new rates do not include the cost of replacing the smart meters, but Scott said that will be passed on to consumers in future years. She estimated it will eventually increase rates by about one per cent.
The OEB isn’t expected to make a final decision on Hydro Ottawa’s rate application until December. If it gives its approval, the new rates would take effect Jan. 1, 2014.