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My Business Bill Explained - kWh & kW

As a small business customer who typically uses more than 50 kilowatts (kW) of electricity on average per month, you are set up with a meter(s) capable of measuring both in kilowatt hours (kWh) and kW. If you don’t fit this description, see Your Bill Explained (kWh).

The sample bill below will help you understand how those charges have been separated, and show you how they appear on your bill. Simply position your mouse over a number, and click. You will be linked to an explanation for that section of the bill. You can also scroll down to get to the same information.

To learn more about your small business electricity rates, go to Rates and Pricing.

Front of bill - Page 1

1. Service address is the premises address being charged for usage.
2. Your account number. If you pay through your financial institution, ATM, by phone, or Internet, you will need it for reference.
3. How to contact us.
4. A summary of what you owe. Calculation details can be found on the back of the bill.
5. The date after which a late payment charge will apply. (A late payment charge of 1.5 per cent per month (19.56 per cent per year) will be applied to your next bill if your payment is not received by the stated date.)
6. Read this area for important messages from Hydro One Networks.
7. Our province-wide 24-hour power outage and emergency number. Keep it handy for future reference.
8. Standard Service Supplied by Hydro One will show on the bill of customers who are not enrolled with a retailer.
9. This comparison chart details your average electricity use per day. It will appear on every bill, as required by the government. ). The chart indicates if your read is based on an actual or estimated read.
10. Your remittance stub. To make a payment by mail, detach it and include it with your payment. Please be sure the return address shows through the envelope window. (This section will be blank if you are enrolled in our Pre-Authorized Payment Option or if you have a credit on your account.)

Page 2 of Bill

11. Balance forward shows the amount of your previous bill, payments made since, and any difference.

12. Your service type defines the kind of connection you have with us — Urban Density, Single Phase or Three Phase.

13. Your electricity consumption calculation includes your meter reading, the date we read it and whether your bill is based on an actual meter reading or an estimate. Your meter calculation should contain references to both kWh and kW. If you only see references to kWh, please refer to Your Bill Explained (kWh).

14. Metered usage in kilowatt-hours shows the amount of electricity you used based on your actual or estimated meter reading.

When electricity is transmitted over distances and passes through lines and transformers, a small percentage is lost naturally. Line losses are an unavoidable part of electricity delivery. Therefore, we must purchase a small amount more than what you use. To determine the amount of electricity that we need to buy for you, we use a calculation called an adjustment factor to adjust your usage.

The line item Adjusted usage in kilowatt-hours shows the amount of electricity you used after adjustment for line losses. The adjustment factor is used to account for the line losses in the electricity system that are not measured by your own meter. The adjustment factor is approved by the Ontario Energy Board and will vary according to your service type.

15. Demand
This shows when we read your demand meter. It also shows your highest power demand in kilowatts (kW) reached in a specified period, usually a month.

16. Electricity
Effective May 1, 2011, the first 750 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity you use each month will be priced at 6.8 cents per kWh. Each kWh you use above 750 kWh per month will be priced at 7.9 cents per kWh. These prices are set by the OEB. We pass these prices to you with no mark-up or profit.

The OEB reviews electricity prices every six months and resets prices, if necessary.

If you are currently buying your electricity from a retailer (or have recently signed a new contract) and are paying their contract price, you will continue to pay the price set out in your contract.

The Electricity charge is calculated based on adjusted usage (amount of electricity we purchased on your behalf after adjustment for line losses).

17. Delivery
These are the costs of delivering electricity from generating stations across the Province to Hydro One, then to your home or business. This includes the costs to build and maintain the transmission and distribution lines, towers and poles, and operate provincial and local electricity systems.

A portion of these charges are fixed and do not change from month to month. The rest are variable and increase or decrease depending on the amount of electricity (kW) that you use so the charge will change from one billing period to the next.

Delivery charges are set according to your service type.

18. Regulatory charges
This includes the costs of services required to operate the electricity system and run the wholesale market. The majority of these charges are variable and increase or decrease depending on the amount of your adjusted usage (amount of electricity we purchased on your behalf after adjustment for line losses). The Ontario Energy Board regulates these charges.

19. Debt retirement charge
The charge used to pay down the debt of the former Ontario Hydro. This charge is based on the amount of electricity used, so it will vary.

20. The Ontario Clean Energy Benefit
The Ontario Clean Energy Benefit is a 10% rebate that is applied to the following charges: Electricity, Delivery, Regulatory Charges, the Debt Retirement Charge, Global Adjustment (if applicable) and HST. This rebate is effective for electricity consumed from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2015 and will help eligible customers as we transition to a cleaner, modern electricity system.

21. Shows any one-time adjustments as they relate to your current bill, such as account set-up charge, late payment charges and other miscellaneous fees and credits.

Page 3 of Bill

22. These meter dials are provided should you choose to review your electricity usage.

23. Every bill includes a standard glossary of terms, which was written by the Ministry of Energy and electricity distributors, and tested by consumers.

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