New Opportunities For Ontario Businesses To Gain from Electricity Rate Relief Program

Canada, 21^st September: New opportunities for Ontario businesses will gain from Electricity Rate Relief Program.

Yes, that is quite true.

New opportunities for Ontario businesses to gain from Electricity Rate Relief Program—New opportunities for Ontario Businesses to gain from Electricity Rate Relief program. Yes, that is quite right. Ontario government announced expansion of ICI(Industrial Conservation Initiative) on 15^th September, 2016.

“ New opportunities for Ontario businesses will gain from Electricity Rate Relief program”.

This will provide more businesses access to a scheme. This will allow customers cut electricity costs by reduced consumption from provincial grid. This is will be during peak demand.

It may be worth mentioned that the ICI of Ontario has been effective since 2011. However, only certain categories of industrial consumers qualified for the scheme. Moreover, it was only for the customer having an average hourly demand for electricity more than three MW(megawatts).

Inclusion of all businesses, lower MW threshold now—Yes, the expansion of the ICI means all businesses shall be included under the scheme. Moreover, Ontario also announced lowering of the current three megawatts threshold. Nearly 300 businesses are already using the ICI program. Nearly 1,000 new businesses shall become eligible for the newly expanded ICI.

ICI to reduce electricity costs of businesses—the ICI program enables businesses to save global adjustment part of electricity costs. It may be worth notable that this portion of electricity costs is the biggest part of electricity costs of any business. The global adjustment depends on several factors. Moreover, in some months, customers(not qualifying for ICI) pay nearly C$100 per megawatt per hour of usage.

ICI customers are termed as Class A customers while non-ICI customers are called Class B customers. Class B customers have to pay a standard monthly global adjustment rate on all electricity consumption consumed each month.

Class A customers get charged on different basis. Global adjustment payment by Class A customers depends on electricity consumption from provincial grid during five hours yearly during peak demand in Ontario. These five hours are called “coincident peaks”.

For large commercial business consumers between 1 and 5 MW, it can be a great opportunity, feels president of energy management consulting firm, Energy Profiles Limited, Neal Bach.

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Harleen Kaur

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