The Global Adjustment (GA) is a billing component designed to reflect the difference between the Hourly Ontario Energy Price (HOEP) for electricity and the guaranteed rates paid for regulated and contracted generation.
 

Some important characteristics of the Global Adjustment include:
 

• It includes the cost to deliver conservation and demand management programs.

• All electricity consumers have to pay a share of the Global Adjustment. It is either bundled within the regulated price plan, or shown as a separate line item on their bill.

• The Global Adjustment varies from month to month, responding to changes in the HOEP compared to contract prices of generation.

• Customers will be billed based on the first estimate of the GA. The latest GA is available the last business day of the preceding month on the IESO's website.

• The first estimate of the GA is comprised of three components:

• An estimate of GA costs based on the one month previous

• An estimate of Ontario’s power demand for the current month

• A true-up for the difference between the previous month’s 1st Estimate and the Actual rate

• When the HOEP is high, the GA is lower, and vice versa.

• The GA can also increase as new generation projects come into service, contract payments take effect, or as a result of a high demand for electricity.

The global adjustment line item is billed based on the $/kWh rate set monthly by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Using the Class B Methodology, the GA is calculated by taking the total adjusted for loss consumption (kWh) for the billing period multiplied by the first Estimate of Global Adjustment, which is what makes up the dollar amount shown on your invoice.
 

All C&I electricity customers who do not participate in the Regulated Price Plan (RPP), including retailer-enrolled customers, are required to pay the Global Adjustment. The GA will appear as a separate line item on the customer’s invoice.

Note: GA is built into the costs for the rates applied under the Regulated Price Plan.
 

Given the decrease in load due to COVID-19 it was forecasted that GA could increase significantly. To help support our C&I customers, Hydro One advocated to the government to offer relief to ensure GA rates do not escalate higher than experienced in the recent past.
 

On May 1, the Ontario government announced they are deferring a portion of Global Adjustment (GA) charges for C&I electricity customers who do not participate in the Regulated Price Plan (RPP), starting from April 2020. The government intends to keep this relief in place to the end of June 2020, subject to necessary extensions and approvals to implement this initiative.

The GA rate for smaller C&I customers (i.e., Class B) will be set at 11.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is roughly in line with the March 2020 value. Large C&I customers (i.e., Class A) will receive the same percentage reduction in GA charges as Class B customers.

This will provide immediate financial support for companies when they need it most: as they do their part to contain COVID-19 and as they prepare to help get our economy moving again.
 

The Ontario government anticipates that more than 50,000 C&I electricity customers will benefit from this relief.

Subject to necessary extensions and approvals to implement this initiative, these customers would be protected from a marked increase in GA cost, caused by the low demand during the COVID-19 outbreak for the months of April, May and June 2020.
 

Yes, in 2021, Class A and Class B customers would see an increase in their Global Adjustment (GA) costs spread over a 12-month period. Details on how this will be implemented are pending an update to Reg 429/04 and is expected to be received from the government at the end of May. As we learn more information about this, we will communicate back to customers.
 

No. The GA will not exceed 11.5 cents/kWh. Therefore, if the 1st estimate of GA is less than 11.5 cents/kWh, the customer will pay the lower amount for GA.
 

These are temporary relief measures intended to provide immediate financial support for companies when they need it most: as they do their part to contain COVID-19 and as they prepare to help get our economy moving again.
 

No. The Class B 1st estimate GA for April 2020 was set prior to the government's announcement. A lower 1st estimate of 9.293 cents/kWh for May 2020 has been calculated to offset the higher April rate for these customers. For more information, please visit the IESO website.
 

If your billing period covers consumption in both April and May, the GA rate on your bill will reflect the blended rate covering both months. The Class B 1st estimate for April 2020 was set prior to the government’s announcement of this rate relief, as a result a lower 1st estimate rate of $9.293 cents/kWh was set for May 2020 to offset the higher April rate.
 

Class A customers will receive the same percentage reduction in GA charges as Class B customers. For example, if there is a 4% savings for Class B customers, a 4% reduction will be applied to the total monthly GA dollar amount for the province. The 4% discounted dollar figure would be multiplied by the Class A customer’s Peak Demand Factor (PDF). Details on pricing and adjustments will be provided in the monthly Class A email sent by the Hydro One BCC.