Electricity prices going down, and bills not following them. That's the puzzle in Ontario this morning, and it starts with a rebate getting smaller on November first. Welcome to Power Bill. Also today, a Southwest Virginia utility asking for twenty-three percent more while the commission's own staff push back, and Orlando adding a charge based on your single busiest fifteen minutes of the month. Ontario to start. If today's show was useful, follow us wherever you're listening — the next one will be waiting.
Gabriela Silva Ponte, writing for CBC News:
The OER will decrease bills by about $23 for an average residential customer who uses 700 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month. Last year, the OER decreased bills for households using 700 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month by around $36 per month.
So at that usage, the Ontario Electricity Rebate is worth about thirteen dollars a month less than last year. And it isn't a small line. It's been covering 23.5 percent of the bill. From November first, the Ontario Energy Board says it covers 15.7. Now the other side. Winter time-of-use prices also drop November first and run through April 30. Off-peak goes from 9.8 cents a kilowatt-hour to 9.1, mid-peak from 15.7 to 14.6, and on-peak from 20.3 to 18.9. The board's position, in its release on Friday, is that lower prices under its Regulated Price Plan are what allow the rebate cut, and that the overall rate of increase for customer bills will stay consistent with previous years. Consistent with previous years still means an increase. Nobody promised a lower bill. They promised the usual climb. Fair reading. CBC doesn't give a net monthly figure for the cheaper prices and smaller rebate combined, so I won't make one up. For a 700-kilowatt-hour home, the rebate line on your November bill drops to about twenty-three dollars, and the prices above it get a little cheaper. The politics are already loud. A spokesperson for Energy Minister Stephen Lecce, Noah Mawji, says the average household still saves nearly $275 a year through the rebate. Keith Brooks of Environmental Defence Canada argues the nuclear buildout will push prices higher, and his words were, the worst is yet to come. If money is tight, check the Ontario Electricity Support Program's monthly credit before the cold sets in.
Matt Busse, writing in Cardinal News:
Under Old Dominion Power’s proposal, a residential customer using a benchmark 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month would see a monthly bill increase of $36.66, from $156.46 to $193.12.
Old Dominion Power is the Virginia arm of Kentucky Utilities, with more than 28,000 customers in Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott and Wise counties. It's asking the State Corporation Commission for about $19 million more a year in base revenue, a 22.4 percent increase. It's a request, and nothing is approved. Look at the return on equity. They want 10.95 percent, up from 9.95. That's the profit regulators let them earn for investors, and it's a big reason this number is so large. Which is where commission staff came in earlier this month. Staff recommended about $11.9 million instead, with a 9.8 percent return. At 1,000 kilowatt-hours, that's $23.07 a month rather than $36.66, about fifteen percent instead of twenty-three. For comparison, S&P Global puts the average authorized return in early 2026 decisions at 9.84 percent. Staff also wants the fixed monthly charge kept at twelve dollars. The company wants fifteen. Three more dollars you pay whether a single light is on or not. Two more bill items. A separate fuel factor request would add $2.73 at 1,000 kilowatt-hours, and Solar Examiner cautions the reporting doesn't say whether that sits inside the $36.66, so don't add them together. Lee County resident Mike Brindle wrote one of only two public comments filed so far. He called the request simply too substantial for Southwest Virginia. Two comments, for 28,000 customers. That count needs to go up. Here's how. The hearing opens Thursday, November 12, at ten in the morning. The deadline to sign up to speak, or to send written comments, is Thursday, November 5. Reference case PUR-2026-00051. The company wants new rates for service starting February 1.
Lisa Bell, reporting for ClickOrlando:
OUC estimates about 50% of customers will see their bills decrease, about 30% will see little change, and the remaining customers could pay up to $7 more per month.
Half pay less, and the rest could pay up to seven dollars more. The Orlando Utilities Commission calls it DemandLevel. I want to know who's in that last group. The mechanism first. Starting in November, OUC cuts its price per kilowatt-hour by 12.5 percent, about a cent. Then it adds a monthly demand charge of five, ten or fifteen dollars, set by your single highest fifteen-minute stretch of use that month. So the dryer, the oven and the air conditioner running together on one busy evening can set your charge for the whole month. The people who can't move laundry and dinner around a work shift are the ones who'll feel that. OUC's Jenise Osani says the change is revenue-neutral, changing how customers are charged but not the total the utility collects. That's OUC's claim. Its advice is to stagger appliances, letting one finish before starting the next. Fine. Then show people their number before the bill does. OUC says it's trying. It's been emailing customers personalized videos built from their past use, and the My Usage dashboard on the OUC website shows past and estimated demand. One town hall is left, Thursday, October 22, at the Englewood Community Center, and pre-registration is required.
If you've ever wondered who's driving all this new electricity demand, our sister show The Data Center Daily covers that side every day: a briefing on AI compute, hyperscaler capex, the power grid, semiconductor supply, and energy markets reshaped by intelligence at scale. It's worth a spot in your queue.
Dates to keep: Ontario's smaller rebate and winter prices start November first, Old Dominion Power's comment deadline is November fifth ahead of the November twelfth hearing, and OUC's last DemandLevel town hall is this Thursday. Every source is linked in the episode notes. Power Bill is a Lantern Podcast, and we'll be with you again tomorrow.