Politics is never far from the electricity markets. And sure enough, much talk lately has been on affordability, with that the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) has decided on a slight electricity price decrease (source). But, the details are interesting, while the headline electrcity rate is decreasing, so is the Ontario Electricity Rebate, going from 23.5% down to 15%. For a solar customer such as myself, this is excellent news.
I did scratch my head over last November’s OEB pricing update (source). On the one hand, price of electricity jumped up by 20-40%, but on the other, the Ontario energy rebate (OER) went way up from 13.1 % to 23.5 %. Seems we are backpedalling a little bit, with the headline rate being reduced by 4-7 %, but he rebate going from 23.5% back down to 15%. The table below shows the rate changes set to take effect on Nov 1st 2026.
As a pro-sumer (e.g. someone who buys and “sells” electricity), these changes help balance the excess energy I sell in the summer months, with excess energy I need to buy in the winter months. The OER was helpful in the winter, but it did not increase my credits I got in the summer. A lower OER, helps balance things a bit for me. Further, given that the sunny summer months are now behind us, I go into the winter with more credits than I might use.
Personally, I would happily accept higher prices per kWh, provided the fixed part of the bill was reduced, that relatively high $51.38 customer charge would be a good start (source). Can it be say 20$, in return for a 25% hike in per kWh costs? Might be smart public policy, particularly these days as Ontario may have to import electricity from (horrors), the United states (source).
How will this affect your bill? Let us know in the comments.
