Rebate extension postpones hydro cost hit News comes with Ontario’s announced electricity rate increase for Nov. 1
Many condominium corporations and rental housing landlords in Ontario
BY BARBARA CARSS
received a six-month reprieve from a looming hydro cost hit when Minister of Energy Greg Rickford announced that large accounts specifically linked to electricity used in buildings’ common areas will remain eligible for the Ontario Electricity Rebate (OER) until April 30, 2021. Common area accounts registering more than 50 kilowatts (kW) of demand or 250,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of annual consumption had been scheduled to lose the benefit — currently a 31.8 per cent pretax discount on electricity consumption and regulated transmission/distribution charges — on November 1. Now, they’ve been granted an extension that comes with an improved rate since the
provincial government intends to increase the rebate apportionment to 33.2 per cent on November 1. That’s likely to be particularly welcome, at least in the short term, as hydro rates for all residential, farm and small commercial customers are slated to rise on the same date. “As we recover from COVID-19, our government remains focused on supporting Ontarians by keeping the cost of electricity
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affordable,” Rickford said, as he also outlined a planned new program to improve energy efficiency in low-income households along with expanded eligibility criteria for onetime grants through the COVID-19 Energy Assistance Program. COVID-19-prompted hiatus of flat rates ends October 31 Nevertheless, the fall/winter schedule of the
