TORONTO - Citing the strong Canadian dollar as a major factor, the Ontario Energy Board said Friday that regulated electricity prices will decline by 4.8 per cent on Nov. 1.
In its regular half-yearly adjustment, the OEB said the new residential rate effective Nov. 1 is five cents per kilowatt-hour up to 1,000 kw-h per month, and 5.9 cents per kw-h above that consumption. Small businesses pay the same rate, but with a 750-kw-h monthly threshold before the higher price kicks in.
Friday's announcement follows decreases of 3.3 per cent in May and 5.8 per cent last November.
The OEB said the latest move will abate a surplus in the Ontario Power Authority's variance account intended to deal with supply cost shocks.
"Another reason for the drop in electricity prices is the expected decrease in the cost of fuels, such as natural gas, used by some electricity generators, relative to the previous forecast,'' the board added.
"The recent appreciation in the Canadian dollar is a major contributing factor since such fuels are purchased by generators in U.S. dollars.''
The prices are reflected on the "electricity'' line of the bills of consumers who buy power from their utilities; those with fixed-price contract plans through marketers will not be affected.
The "delivery'' line, representing the cost of transporting power from generators to local utilities and on to homes and businesses, benefits from a one per cent reduction announced by the OEB in August.
