We recently received a letter from Power Stream/Alectra Utilities to inform us that we have been selected to take part in a new trial electricity pricing program.
The program is called Advantage Power Pricing – Enhanced Plan.
Essentially, between September 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017, we are being offered an off-peak savings of approximately 2 cents per kilowatt between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., and all weekends and holidays.
HOWEVER, both the mid-peak and on-peak charges are INCREASING by about 4 cents per kilowatt! That means that between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., our electricity rates are going up – by ALOT!
Most residents in Ontario have been on Time-Of-Use programs since Smart Meters were introduced back in 2007.
In our household, we have adapted our schedules to the extreme savings (more than half the cost!) by doing our laundry, running our dishwasher, etc., during off-peak times, specifically 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., or weekends and holidays – and are seeing the savings on our monthly bill.
With the proposed new Advantage Power Pricing- Enhanced Plan proposed by the Ontario Energy Board, it means that whatever nominal amounts of electricity we are already using during the day, we will be paying much more for it!
And when the days get darker, and we have to turn on our lights at 5 p.m., we will be paying 4 cents more per kilowatt for necessity electricity.
This new proposed plan is doing nothing for those of us who have already converted and adapted to the Time-Of-Use plan, but charging us more for the minimal electricity we already use!
It makes no sense, but it will make a lot of CENTS for the province!
And it would especially hurt residents whose homes are heated by electricity, and there are many.
I suggest we all move to natural gas, if at all possible.
About a year ago, we opted for a gas stove, and a gas dryer, and already the savings are evident.
And natural gas, last I heard, doesn’t involve those environmentally unfriendly, harmful to human health, bird killing eyesores, real estate price plunging wind turbine machines!
The “pilot project” of Advantage Power Pricing – Enhanced Plan thankfully offers an opt-out option. It’s a toll free number to call and say “NO” to this price gouging “option” the Ontario Energy Board is trying to impose on us.
I called and opted out.
I urge everyone to read the fine print, and, if you agree, opt out also.
That will send a strong message to the province that residents in Ontario, who are already paying for the most expensive electricity in the country, will not go gently into that good night, and pay even more – especially under the guise of a money savings plan, which is really serving only to line the pockets of the Ontario Energy Board and our local hydro companies even more.