MORE ELECTRICITY BILL RELIEF FOR BUSINESSES AND FAMILIES
Mauro and Gravelle announce McGuinty Government Supports Local Industry While Providing Relief for Families
“I’m delighted to see this important energy benefit to help large industrial consumers keep costs competitive in the global market, which protects and preserves Northern jobs. This move, along with the Northern Industrial Electricity Rate Program, Northern Ontario Energy Credit and the 10 per cent savings on home electricity bills for the next five years, shows our government truly understands and responds to the unique needs of Northerners.” Michael Gravelle, MPP Thunder Bay-Superior North
Ontario’s recently released Energy Plan is helping Northern Ontario industries stay competitive with new programs that lower electricity costs, while providing additional relief on electricity bills to Ontario families in 2011.
Starting this year, the new Industrial Conservation Initiative is available to over 200 of Ontario’s largest energy consumers, including AbitibiBowater in Thunder Bay. This initiative provides a strong incentive for industrial companies to shift their electricity consumption to off-peak hours to save on costs. This will help companies like Abitibi stay competitive, invest more in their businesses and create new jobs.
This initiative is in addition to the three-year, $450 million Northern Industrial Electricity Rate Program that can directly reduce costs for companies like Abitibi-Bowater by two cents a kilowatt-hour and which can also be accessed by other major industrial users in the North, including the mining sector.
Ontario is also helping northern families with their electricity costs through:
- The new Ontario Clean Energy Benefit that will help Ontario families, farms and small businesses by taking 10 per cent off of all monthly electricity bills for the next five years, starting this month.
- The Northern Ontario Energy Credit that is helping over half of all northern families manage the higher costs of heating their homes due to colder winter temperatures. This permanent credit provides up to $130 for eligible individuals and up to $200 per year for eligible families, including single parents.
- The expanded Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit that is providing relief with credits of
up to $900 for Ontarians and up to $1025 in assistance for seniors.
Helping strengthen the Northern Ontario economy and providing electricity price relief to businesses and families is an important part of the McGuinty government’s Open Ontario Plan.
QUICK FACTS
- The Northern Industrial Electricity Rate Program is providing electricity price rebates of two cents per kilowatt-hour for qualifying large energy users. On average this would reduce industrial electricity prices by about 25 per cent, based on 2009 levels.
- Ontario is turning off dirty coal-fired generation and replacing that power with cleaner energy sources. This includes the conversion of the Thunder Bay coal-fired plant to natural gas and the conversion of the Atikokan coal plant to biomass.
- The conversion of two coal-burning units at Ontario Power Generation’s Thunder Bay plant will create 100 construction jobs and help protect jobs at the plant.
LEARN MORE
- Explore Ontario’s Long-Term Energy Plan.
- Learn more about the Northern Ontario Energy Credit.
- Learn more about the Ontario Clean Energy Benefit.
- Learn more about the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit.
- Learn more about the Northern Industrial Electricity Rate Program rules.
- Learn more about the Industrial Conservation Initiative changes to the Global Adjustment and Regulation 398/10 under the Electricity Act.
