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Unbundling Your Bill
Prior to electricity rate unbundling, the only charges you saw for electrical power on your utility bill was a single line (plus GST) that looked like this:
Electric Commodity Charge - $119.58
GST 8.37The amount you were charged was based on your electrical consumption, in kWh, at the fixed rate set by the OEB, which included many different charges all factored into one. Unbundling breaks down the electric commodity charge and shows the consumer all charges that it includes as separate items on your bill.
Here's a sample of how an unbundled bill will look for a residential customer:
| Electric Detail | |
|
Rate | Amount |
| Electric Commodity Charge - First 750 kWh | 1200 | 750 | .047 | 35.25 |
| - Remainder | 488 | .055 | 26.84 | |
| KWh Distribution Service Charge | 1200 | .01127 | 13.52 | |
| Distribution Service Charges | 14.66 | |||
| Transmission Connection Charge | 1200 | 1238 | .0050 | 6.19 |
| Transmission Network Charge | 1200 | 1238 | .0057 | 7.05 |
| Wholesale Market Charges | 1200 | 1238 | .0062 | 7.67 |
| Ont. Hydro Debt Retirement Charge | 1200 | .0070 | 8.40 | |
| G.S.T. | 8.37 |
Understanding Your Bill
The following provides an explanation of the charges that are now listed on your bill.
This is the actual charge per kilowatt-hour for the electric commodity. This is the only part of your electric bill that is open to competition. If you purchase electricity from a retailer their name and phone number will appear on your bill. This usage is uplifted for bill calculation purposes.
These charges cover the costs associated with Festival Hydro Inc.'s metering, administration, billing, the costs of running wires to your home and the staff and equipment needed to keep them operating. This usage is not uplifted for bill calculation purposes.
These charges reflect the costs for Festival Hydro to connect to the supply network and also the costs to transmit the power from the network to Festival Hydro. These costs are set by the Ontario Energy Board. This usage is uplifted for bill calculation purposes.
This is a combined charge that includes the Independent Market Operator (IMO) system and administration fees, IMO uplift charges and IMO ancillary charges. It also includes an electricity rate protection fee that was implemented by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) to offset the extra costs associated with delivering power to rural and more isolated areas. This usage is uplifted for bill calculation purposes.
This charge was implemented by the Government of Ontario to pay down the stranded debt of the former Ontario Hydro. This usage is not uplifted for bill calculation purposes.
Some energy is lost during the transmission and distribution of electricity from the transmission station to your home or business. These losses are charged to the consumer and are shown on your bill under the heading "uplifted" in addition to the usage measured on your meter. All customers are subject to a 3.13% loss factor except for primary metered customers where the loss factor is 2.1%.
With the introduction of the new electricity market on May 1, 2002, the load control program could no longer be offered to Festival Hydro customers who rent a water heater. However, in the new legislation, scheduled to be passed by the Ontario government in June 2004, Festival Hydro expects the use of load controllers will be re-introduced as a method to conserve energy during peak hours.