Oakville Hydro Electricity Distribution Inc.
This chart shows the per cent breakdown of the various charges on your hydro/water bill and where the money goes.
Electricity Charges: This is the cost of the electricity that you have used during the billing period. If you purchase your electricity from an electricity retailer, this will be the rate charged by your retailer. If not, your commodity rate will be the same price that Oakville Hydro pays, averaged over your billing period. The electricity charge is paid to your retailer, or the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), which in turn disburses payments to the appropriate generators (e.g. Ontario Power Generation).
Regulatory Charges: These are the costs of administering the wholesale electricity system and maintaining the reliability of the provincial grid, and includes the costs associated with funding the Ministry of Energy's conservation and renewable energy programs. Oakville Hydro sends this amount directly to the IESO, a provincially-owned institution that administers the electricity market in Ontario.
Debt Retirement Charges (DRC): This is your contribution toward paying off the stranded debt left by the former Ontario Hydro. Oakville Hydro sends this amount directly to the provincial government.
Transmission Charges: These are the costs of delivering electricity from generating stations to Oakville Hydro along a high-voltage transmission system. Oakville Hydro sends this amount directly to the IESO and Hydro One.
Distribution Charges: Oakville Hydro charges this amount to all customers to use its distribution system. The distribution system is essentially the wires that connect the electricity supply grid to your home. The Ontario Energy Board regulates these charges.
Harmonized Sales Tax (HST): We are required to collect the HST for all of these charges on behalf of the federal and Ontario governments.
