CORNWALL, Ontario – While the rest of Ontario complains about exorbitant hydro bills, Cornwall Electric customers can breathe easier.
The utility said Monday its rates will remain frozen for the next year.
Michael Pescod, regional manager of Cornwall Electric, attributed the rate freeze to the two long-term wholesale electricity supply contracts previously negotiated with Hydro Quebec.
The two long-term wholesale agreements continue to provide security of supply and rate stability, he added.
Also, eligible residential and small business customers will continue to receive the Ontario Clean Energy Benefit savings of 10 per cent on electricity costs until the provincial program ends in 2016.
In addition, Cornwall Electric customers are not subject to the debt retirement charge.
“Like all other utilities in Ontario, the wholesale cost of electricity is passed through to customers. The long-term contracts with Hydro Quebec provide security of supply and rate stability to December 2019,” said Pescod. “Cornwall Electric rates continue to compare favorably to surrounding electrical utilities.”
The wholesale cost of electricity represents approximately 80 per cent of the customer’s total bill. The balance represents the distribution charges.
These distribution charges pay for Cornwall Electric to deliver safe and reliable power from the Cedars Rapids Transmission lines to the Cornwall Electric substations then to the customers’ homes and businesses and to provide for system maintenance and capital equipment replacement.
In 2015, Cornwall Electric’s capital program will invest approximately $4 million in distribution system expansions and capital replacements.
Cornwall Electric supplies electricity to 24,300 customers in the City of Cornwall, South Glengarry, South Stormont, and the Ontario portion of the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of FortisOntario.
