Electricity rates heading up

Electricity rates are going up again in Ontario starting November first.

The Ontario Energy Board says the peak price for electricity – between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. – will rise by 1.4 cents to 17.5 cents a kilowatt hour.

The mid-peak price from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. will rise by 0.6 cents to 12.8 cents a kw/h.

The peak and mid-peak price times switch to these rates from the summer rates on November first also.

And the off-peak rate from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. and all day weekends and holidays jumps 0.3 cents to 8.3 cents a kwh, less than half the on-peak rate.

The energy board says the increases will add $4.42 to the electricity line on the average monthly electricity bill for a household that uses about 800 kwh a month.

It says about 40% of the rate increase is because of increased costs from Ontario Power Generation’s nuclear and hydro-electric generating stations.

The board sets electricity prices every May and December and changes the hours for peak and off-peak pricing to reflect the shorter daylight periods in winter.