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Chapleau Hydro customers “Have your say about your utility’s rate application”

Chapleau Public Utilities Corporation (Chapleau Hydro) has applied to the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) to change its electricity distribution rates.

The OEB wants to hear from Chapleau Hydro customers about the proposed rate changes. The OEB is holding a community meeting to provide customers a chance to ask questions and provide comments about the proposed rate changes and learn more about how to get involved in the OEB’s review process.

“All OEB regulated utilities must apply to the OEB if they want to change their electricity distribution rates,” explains Rudra Mukherji, Associate Registrar at the OEB.

Now that the OEB has received the rate application from Chapleau Hydro, the OEB is starting a public hearing to thoroughly examine the rate change request. During the hearing, which will be either written or oral, Chapleau Hydro will present evidence to explain their reasons for the requested rate change. Consumers are encouraged to participate by attending the OEB community meeting, sending the OEB a Letter of Comment or, more formally, by asking to be an intervenor. Visit oeb.ca/participateto learn about intervenors. Once all the evidence from Chapleau Hydro and other participants in the hearing has been presented, the OEB will decide whether to grant, deny or allow only a portion of the utility’s proposed rate change.

“We assess major rate applications through an open, public and rigorous review process,”explains Mukherji.

Utilities rarely get all they ask for. Since 2009, the OEB has reviewed more than 140 major rate applications and reduced requested distribution rate increases by an average of about 38 per cent.

Overall, the Ontario Energy Board has kept the annual growth in average distribution rates to about two per cent – close to the rate of inflation during the same period.

According to Chapleau Hydro, if its application were to be approved as filed, the typical residential customer using 750 kWh of electricity per month would see a monthly increase of approximately $1.96, effective May 1, 2019. Commercial customers in the general service (<50 kW) using 2,000 kWh per month would see a monthly increase of $17.40, as of May 1, 2019. Other customers may also be affected.

The potential residential customer bill impact includes reductions under the Distribution Rate Protection program.

“Community meetings are a key part of the OEB’s commitment to engage and empower consumers,” continues Mukherji. “We hold utilities to account, while making sure utilities have what they need to keep the lights on.”

Community meeting details:

When:  Tuesday, February 5, 2019   

Where: Royal Canadian Legion,

               33 Young Street

               Chapleau, Ontario

When:   6:30 to 8:30 p.m. (Doors open at 6 p.m.)

 

Register Here: oeb.ca/participate/community-meetings

 

Chapleau Hydro customers who want to make a brief presentation at the community meeting should contact the OEB at [email protected] or call 1-877-632-2727 (toll-free)and quote file number EB-2018-0087.

For more information, customers can visit www.oeb.ca/participate and use EB-2018-0087 to find Chapleau Hydro’s rate application.  Customers can also view the utility’s scorecard to see how Chapleau Hydro is performing on customer satisfaction, system reliability and cost control: www.oeb.ca/scorecards.

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