My home bill explained

As an electricity consumer in Ontario you receive a bill that shows each of the individual charges that make up the costs of delivering electricity to your home from generators as well as the cost to purchase that electricity for you. 

The sample below explains the separate charges, and show you how they appear on your bill. Scroll down or move your mouse over the numbered sections below to get an explanation for that section of the bill.

 Already transitioned to time-of-use billing? See a sample of your bill or log in to check your energy usage.

My cottage bill

Here is a sample of a bill for a seasonal cottage.

To find out how your electricity rates are calculated, go to Rates and Pricing.

Front of Bill

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. Watch 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 appear on the bill of customers who are not enrolled with a retailer.
9. This comparison chart details your average electricity used 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.) 

Back of Bill

11. Balance forward shows the amount of your previous bill, payments made since, and any difference.
12. Service classification indicates your account type (residential, seasonal, farm or general service). Your residential classification is identified by one of three density levels: normal, high and urban.
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.
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 delivering electricity. 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. The adjustment factor in this example is 1.092.

15. Electricity
Effective November 1, 2009, the first 1000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity you consume each month will be priced at 5.8 cents per kWh. Each kWh you use above 1000 kWh per month will be priced at 6.7 cents per kWh.

Since November 1, 2005, the seasonal price thresholds have changed twice a year for residential customers to 1,000 kWh per month during the winter season (November 1 to April 30) and 600 kWh per month during the summer season (May 1 to October 31). The OEB reviews electricity prices every six months and resets prices, if necessary.

For non-residential customers the threshold is 750 kWh throughout the year.

If you buy 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).

16. 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 that you use.

The majority of the variable charges are calculated based on metered usage, with the remainder of the variable costs calculated based on the adjusted usage (amount of electricity we purchased on your behalf after adjustment for line losses).

Delivery charges are set according to your service type. 

17. Regulatory charges
This includes the cost 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.

18. Debt retirement charge
The charges used to pay down the debt of the former Ontario Hydro. This charge will also be calculated based on your metered usage, so it will change from one billing period to the next. 

19. If you are enrolled in our Budget Billing Plan (formerly referred to as our payment plan), you will see your current regular payment amount here.  You will see also see a comparative year-to-date summary detailing actual electricity costs, Budget Billing Plan billings and the difference between the two numbers (a running balance). This helps you avoid annual reconciliation surprises.
20. 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 or credits.
21. These meter dials are provided should you choose to review your electricity usage.
22. Every bill includes a standard glossary of terms, which was written by the Ministry of Energy and electricity distributors, and tested by consumers. This glossary helps to explain the line items and you'll find it on the back of the remittance stub.