Hydro Update

Over the past year or more I have been slowly making changes to our hydro usage trying desperately to reduce the kWh use and in turn reduce the monthly cost of our bill. I have made many different changes, investing heavily into upfront costs for a long term reduction.

• Alarm system that can monitor and change usage based on when we are in the house;
• LED bulbs throughout the whole house;
• Signed up for HydroOne's own power saver program.

To my dismay of making these changes, my bill has not reduced as much as I was expecting. Below you will see my most recent bill summary. Usage is 574.9242kWh which is a nice reduction to what I was seeing last year but not my lowest, but since it is summer and the AC is running more I am ok with these numbers. What I am not ok with is the way delivery is calculated on the Hydro bill.

With my total hydro usage of 574.9242kWh it cost: $57.77 for the hydro. Now add on the delivery charge of $59.00, Regulatory Charge of $3.77, Debt Retirement Charge of $4.02, HST at $16.19 and finally a Ontario Clean Energy Benefit of $-14.08 I am at a grand total of $126.67. But here lies the problem, how is the cost of delivery justified to cost more than the cost of the Hydro itself? Its like buying an item off of E-Bay for $50.00 and having to pay $55.00 for delivery plus a import charge and HST. Now I know you may have done this because I have done it before, but I have done it once learnt a lesson and didn't buy again from that seller.

Unfortunately for the residents of Ontario who are supplied Hydro by HydroOne, we have no other choice but to pay. When will the Ontario Government step up to the plate and fix the many issues with hydro in this province? since we are paying the most in the country.