Local Hydro bills – going up
Posted May 11, 2010 03:41:26 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Your next hydro bill is going to be higher. The Ontario Energy Board has announced that electricity distribution rates for Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro have increased by almost nine per cent, effective May 1st. The 8.7% jump will be noticed on the “delivery charge” line item on your hydro bill.
Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro president and CEO, Jerry Van Ooteghem, says the delivery charge is one of several line items on a hydro bill and will impact the bottom line by about 2.6%. Van Ooteghem tells 570 News the increase is intended to help Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro recover its investment costs for improved infrastructure such as poles and lines.
Van Ooteghem says rates for Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro customers are competitive with neighbouring jurisdictions despite recent increases. He says decisions to increase rates are based on a number of factors, including renewable generation and conservation measures at the provincial level as well as the local service provider’s requirement to meet the needs of an increasing population.
Van Ooteghem also says these types of increases come around once every four years and reflect the costs associated with recent investments to replace poles and, in some cases, underground cables that have reached the end of their life.
Van Ooteghem says there is a variable component within the hydro bill and customers can make efforts to conserve electricity where possible in a bid to keep the bottom line in check.
