How Hydro One’s billing effects cottage owners?

What does the change in Hydro One’s seasonal billing means for cottage owners?

There have been so many concerns and speculations about the recent announcements regarding seasonal billing in Ontario. What does this mean? Who does this effect? And what are the possible alternatives you can pursue to lower the blow in your pockets? For starters, this topic has been under consideration for quite some time now. Although it may save some citizens hydro bills, it is going to increase the bills paid by seasonal customers – aka cottage owners.

The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) has been looking into the possible approaches to this situation. Due to the pandemic, hydro rates were reduced earlier in 2020 to help with the quarantine lifestyle. Unfortunately, we cannot pause our economy for even a global pandemic. According to Terry Rees, executive director of Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations (FOCA), this could potentially raise cottage owner’s hydro bills to an upward of $1,000 annually and regardless of what is “fair”, cottage owners seem to be in the minority to OEB for this decision. 

But What Now?                                                                    

Now, cottage owners must take matters into their own hands. Research alternative energy sources, sustainable sources and more importantly economically friendly sources. Depending on your energy consumption, you can begin to explore equipment that can help you generate your own electricity. If 2020 has taught the world one thing, it is the importance of self-sustenance (and covering your face). For this reason, many Canadians living in remote areas, tiny homes and cottages are moving towards energy that is sustainable. A major benefit of sustainable energy is that it can be created independently with the user’s choice of solar panels, or wind turbines. Now when it comes to environmentally friendly sources of energy, there are 2 popular choices amongst users: solar and wind energy.

Which of the two is more reliable? Actually, both these work as great complementary options to one another. Solar panels are great until a cloudy day, or nighttime. This is a gap that wind turbines can easily fill up due to the complementary nature of both energy sources. Microgeneration wind turbines present an opportunity to reduce the increasing hydro bills. Not only are they environmentally friendly, but they are also low maintenance as well.

Times are changing, take this opportunity and take a step closer towards sustainability.