How much has your hydro bill jumped lately?

With the Smart Meters in, my hydro bill has actually gone DOWN. Why? I shut lights and the power bars off that my devices are connected to when I'm not using them. I have a 4 level backsplit and my gas, hydro and water all together cost me about $160 a month and I live in a big city in Ontario.

The government keeps telling us to save enery, tells you how to do it, when to do it, some day they will try to tell us when we can have sex, eat, when to go to bed! Most people try to save enery but everytime you turn around the rates are going up so much it doesn't matter what you do! Why can't we send all of these posts to their website and see if they even read anything from a human that has some common sence! They talk alot but they don't listen and your nothing but stupid when trying to talk to them on the phone. Maybe some of them should get layed-off from their good paying jobs and try to see how they like the money on unemployment! Try to feed their family on their pay then, and take away their bonuses too.

My hydro bill went up more than 100%. It is a rip off. We are also paying for former Hydro company generosity which gave out generous packages to every employee including CEO(no audit/no question asked), one example, a emmployee was about to be retired, only few months were left for mandotory retirement and he got two years salary to take few months early retirement and now governament is recovering the money from tax payers. In the name of environment. MacGuinty, our premier ripping ontorians. my are paying income tax to built reactors, there is no reason to increase rate to built new reactors. He increased health premium and hid it in out income tax. He is applying HST and looting tax payers in this bad economic time where many people are'nt getting anu pay raises.

I too found something amiss with my hydro bills....after alot of investigating I found out that the hydro companies are involved in double billing ..they are driving our costs up -and billing us for electricity we don't use ..then they sell it to Americans at a discounted rates we are slowly being taken over...soon we will have ,no freedoms ...look out

I asked recently my husband how come in the country with such major problems and crazy taxation media was questionning people what do they think is Ken will be again with Barbie??? This was lasting for 2-3 days and after that everyday we hear about national treasure Justin Beaber and news about Charly Sheen???Who cares!!!!Lets talk about how we can survive if bils will bel growing with such speed?Conservatives talks about green country, 3mln.dollars was put out on the cleanouts of the Grat Lakes and 26mln.dollars mr.Govertment was put out on the promotion of his plan?Amazing.

Writer, please do atleast a little fact checking and maybe your article would be worth reading and spark some actual useful society changes. I understand this is free news, but come on!

The 30 cents is just the result of the small rate change approved by the regulators that OPG and Hydro One can charge, its does not include all the other increases of late (e.g. HST, Time of use, Green Energy rates). Which are the reasons for your and others huge cost increases.

For all you complainers if you understand the following you will be better informed. Writer maybe you could help everyone understand better.

If you need good article ideas...

1) Discuss how the supply chain for electricity works, (fixed rate retailers (e.g. Direct energy), Municiple utilities(e.g. Veridian, Toronto Hydro), OEB, Tranmission (e.g. Hydro One), IESO, Generators (e.g. OPG, BP, Dalton's Friends (i.e. Green Generators), small scale generation by prive entities). And their roles and responsibilities and impact on the cost we the end users pay.

2) Discuss the energy plan and the impact on the rates we pay. http://www.ieso.ca/imoweb/pubs/electricity_insider/EI_v2-i1.pdf.

3) Discuss how the Ontario owned suedo-public generators (OPG/Hydro One) are used to moderate( keep low) the prices paid by end users.

4) Do an actual cost breakdown for the province at i) peak use and ii) average use.
Break it down to demonstrate the % of cost for supply chain organizations types and by generation types (coal, natural gas, green (wind/solar), nuclear, Hydro, other (bio-mass).

5) Discuss how tax payers are being used to subsedize private generation. (follow the money)

this company is and has been for a long time,the most mismanaged organizations in Ontario and it is time for the government to clean house or we the users will continue to pay for the total incompetency of this company.

Too add to the conversation, Smart Meters. Here in Newmarket, our hydro provider spotted a gravy train, and jumped right on them. Whe where the first municipality to have them activated, a full year before anybody else, and have been paying higher rates all along. Last I checked, this was a democracy, ie, what's good for one, should be the same for everybody..not the case. I have no faith in the technology either, especially given they had to exchange my meter THREE times, before they got one to work..(so they could read it by remote control) I have been in contact with Frank Klees..MPP York region Conservative..and he hears me..even read my letter in the legislature, but Hudak and the boys have NO energy plan. Nukes are NOT the way to go either, as is being currently witnessed.
In my letter to Klees, the most punishing line I wrote was "in my mind, Govenment exists to protect us from preditors..instead, it has become one". I retired to persue my hobbys, in the garage, with power tools..not sit in the dark, waiting in dread of the next hydro bill

Like most, our hydro bill increased.
What will be interesting to watch for is the amount and to whom grants will be given to for alternative energy sources such as wind and solar. I believe the increases are heading for these areas. How much of these companies will we own? Like the 407, we build it and then sell it and pay more.
Governments do not appear to operating for the best interests of the people. Let's get R&D for the person (home owners use off the grid) so disposable dollars can go for a wider field of beneficiaries and developments that benefit all and not the few.

why can't the government of Ontario get solar panels on all the houses and offices in the province? Make it a loan. I bet Ontarians wouldn't mind retiring those debts. Dalton's days are numbered, but Ontario and Canada lose again cause for all that he gave up going into public office he gets a full government pension. Like my mom always says -- we as Canadians deserve who we have in office and what we pay in taxes because we just bitch and moan and don't do anything about it.

LOL it is an scam! Thanks to Brian M that started all this crap. free trade, sell offs, We need to take control of OUR hydro remove the private company NOW!!!

Yes I certainly agree with the aforementioned comments, but we are in more trouble with any alternative to the Liberals, unfortunately !! This seems to be the same mistake we in Ontario make over and over. Changing Government isn't the answer. We as the people of Ontario need to force the politicians to do the right thing and not to boot them hoping the next group will do us better !! We need to get off our duffs and keep these people accountable !! Sitting back and doing the easy thing is what got us in this mess in the first place. Just my overtaxed 2 cents.

Some of you people can't read.

I hear people complain that Delivery Charge is $70 or whatever even though they used no power ect. I see the same uneducated complaints in the local papers.

What you don't seem to realize is the Delivery Charge includes both the cost of transmission AND the related infrastructure. They didn't put those wires on your house out of generosity. That is to say: Even though you used no power, you could have because it was still hooked up and available. If you get the hydro lines removed then you won't have to pay that charge, although of course you won't have the ability to use hydro at all in that case. It takes energy to transmit the power as well but this is a smaller portion of that total.

And before any of you whiners say you shouldn't have to pay the transmission cost as that is a cost of doing business, you pay the same costs in everything but at least with Hydro they show you the amount up front. When oil goes up, food prices go up because it costs more to ship it. same with airline pricing ect. With everything else it is usally included and not itemized.

Laying wires can cost anywhere from 1 million to 5 million per Kilometer. I am not sure people seem to think it's dirt cheap.

Glad to see my family isn't alone. When our smart meter was installed our bill went up 1000%. YES 1000 - 3 zeros. Was told by Hydro One that we had a grow op in the basement; didn't have a basement. Was told to turn our A/C off; didn't have A/C. Was told to turn pool heater off; didn't have a pool. Was told our old meter was slow; after many conversations with Hydro One, finally got someone to admit that even with a slow meter, change should have only been 2-3%. Was told to use "time of use" hydro wiser; tried, however no one was home during the day, to use electricity during peak times, ran D/W overnite etc with no change. Home was new construction with lotsa insulation, new appliances, CFL light bulbs, ceiling fans, propane heat (supplemented with wood) and propane domestic hot water. Had Hydro One out to check meter; was told meter was OK; recommended we have an electrician check our home. Had 2 electricians check; no problem. Forced to leave portion of bill unpaid (because it was so expensive); was threatened with disconnection, with the Hydro trucks in our yard. Talked to local MP & MPP; was told its not "our" government in power, we really can't do any thing about it. And, my opinion to all the folks who believe that a change of government will really make a difference, I believe you're dreaming. They're all bandits, who are only padding their own pension. For our family we were forced to abandon our home to the finance company, since the increase in hydro expense from $70.00 monthly to $700.00 monthly was unbearable. Good luck to the new owners of our (former) home. And also good luck to anyone who wishes to have any constructive communication with Hydro One, OMB or you local MP or MPP. Also, I see lots of us have complaints; however none of us (including myself) have anything to offer as a solution. Other those offering the initially expensive option of going off-grid. Suggestions?

Has anyone had their smart meter checked, how do we know if the meter is working correctly, seems to me rates increased as soon as the meters came on line. I have kept records of KWH and dollar cost for the last 10 years, something is not right, we keep our house a 60 at night and 66 by day and use all off peak hours. Something fishy going on

Everybody should start calling hyrdo and have the meters checked.

@junior,

I feel your pain but the only reason you'd have been paying $700 a month is if your using for heating likely baseboard, or someone is running a grow op off your house, without your knowledge.

You probably weren't on balanced billing, and winter hit, would be my guess.

Suggestions

1) use less electricity, never use it for heat (heating, dryer, stove) if natural gas is available. (research shale gas on google)
2) educate yourself and others about electricity and provincial plans,
3) don't complain unless you understand, shit ain't free. No one said you deserve it, you wait to see what the free market would charge for electricity.

I love these forums, just what I like, strongly opinionated people, who don't know what they are talking about, complaining only about their own self interests.
3)

Smart meters from what i have read will increase costs......The solution is for the gov to stop wasting our $..$6 million to pay defence lawers for convicted people??? Too many sitting members who only vote as the leader wants...pekks etc...They are cutting pentions to the retired people where is the $ going.???

Don't let the Liberal fools us any more. Its about time to take them down.

Right on CHuck, just tell us where and when,will be there!

I've been telling you guys, I did all the upgrading to effecient energy, spent lots of money, hoping to lower my bill but it gone up to roof...