Will Smart Meters Cause my Electricity ("Hydro") Bill to Increase?
(Just want to see the rates and not the commentary? Scroll to the bottom!)
Toronto (and other places in Ontario) are moving to "smart meters" for electricity billing, where you pay a different rate depending on the time of day. This makes sense, as the cost of electricity does vary throughout the day, and there's currently no incentive for people to do things like cook a lunch or vacuum their house at 2AM instead of 2PM. Now, with smart meters, you can save yourself a few nickels by waking up in the middle of the night to do these already enjoyable chores!
In theory, with smart meters, if users don't change their habits, the amount of electricity sold and it's price should not change at all. If the overall amount that the average user pays for electricity increases with time-of-day billing smart meters, then there's a stealth price increase taking place. Of course, I'm talking about averages here, you may be above or below it.
In theory, the change to smart meters should be revenue neutral at worst, and at best, decrease electricity revenue and increase electricity use, as people use more "cheap" electricity, and less "expensive" electricity.
The utilities will be sure to charge you for installing all of these smart meters of course, so you have to make enough changes in your lifestyles to counter-act this to end up saving money. I think that the cost of something represents how scarce that good is, and installing all these meters does use resources
It should be said that some small users have no chance of making enough changes to offset the cost of the meters themselves, and end up using more resources than they did before
What's the Real Price of Electricity Anyway?
The "Independent Electricity System Operator" determines the price in Ontario every 5 minutes based on supply and demand. You can see the current hourly rate here. On average, you should be paying this rate through the smart-meter. Maybe one day they'll configure the smart meters to actually charge the real-time rate, but that'll confuse people, and the backlash for paying the actual cost of something would be incredible.
An interesting aside is that electricity prices in Ontario have
actually dropped significantly over the past year, due to
industrial decline, but also mild seasons and changing energy use patterns. Examples of these changes include changing from
incandescent lights to CFLs, tower PCs to laptops and CRT TVs to LCD
TVs, all of which reduce electricity demand (and as a result, price)
substantially. Appliances have steadily improved in efficiency, and those old refrigerators and such are now finally getting sent to the recyclers.
For the first week of June, the average weighted price of electricity generation in Ontario has been just above 1 cent/kwh.
Here are the average real monthly prices for electricity over the past year in Ontario:
(In other words, these are the amounts paid to electricity generators, like Ontario Power Generation)
I'd also like to point out that electricity users are paying for the real price of electricity, it is not subsidized, but it was before, and current users are paying back for it (Debt Retirement Charge), so it's actually the opposite of subsidized.
Here are the old summer electricity rates that residential users without activated smart meters pay:
5.7 ¢/kWh for the first 600 kWh in a month
6.6 ¢/kWh for each additional kWh
Of course, this is only the cost for the electricity, excluded are transmission charges, distribution charges,
Here are the new "Smart-Meter" summer electricity rates for Toronto (and the rest of Ontario):
Week-ends and holidays: 4.2 ¢/kWh
| Weekdays |
¢/kWh |
| 7 am to 11 am | 7.6¢/kWh |
| 11 am to 5 pm | 9.1¢/kWh |
| 5 pm to 10 pm | 7.6¢/kWh |
| 10 pm to 7 am | 4.2¢/kWh |
Conclusions on Smart Meters and Ontario Electricity Pricing
To be honest, based on my gut instinct, I'm calling this a (temporary) stealth price increase. It may very well be a total price increase if one's electricity consumption isn't sufficiently shifted to cover the costs of the meters themselves, which is especially true for light users (like cottagers). Many of the biggest electricity loads run during peak or mid-peak times and are almost impossible to shift, such as air conditioning, TVs, PCs, hot water usage and cooking. Most people aren't going to shift cooking dinner from 6:00PM to 10:00PM. Now there's actually less incentive to turn off that PC overnight. The only thing I think people will do is change the timing of their laundry and pool pumps, and really, during those really hot days of the year (when electricity is the most expensive), you should be drying outdoors anyway. It takes a load off your air conditioner too.
I'll bet that the Ontario Energy Board will lower these rates at their next review, since Ontarians will be overpaying for electricity with these rates.
You simply don't get it
The irony of your "blog" is not lost upon us. Just get laid off bro? Good news for us they are finally being forced to control costs. Looks like the money tree in the backyard just got chopped down eh? Free speech - ain't it great? When all else fails fall back on the old "there's gonna be blackouts" rhetoric. Lol srsly?
You simply don't get it.
For starters I think it's too bad some idiot can get on the web and "blog" about things just to blow off even though they don't have a clue about what they are talking about.
Hydro One is in deep financial trouble. They are our only supplier of electrical energy. Yes the company has been miss-managed. Yes we are seeing higher prices. Yes people are upset, but the reality is we, the tax payers, are the only people who can fix this.
The entire system is very fragile and unless it receives a sufficient infusion of money it will fail and fail every time there is a weather event. So go ahead and complain, cut the rates, as our Liberal Government did to win votes. We'll see how happy you all are when you spend days in the dark without power after every major event that occurs. But then of course you'll all complain about that too, and want it all fixed for free. The money tree in the back yard will pay for it.
It must be frustrating for those in office to have to deal with a never ending stupid society.
Hydro One Smart Meter
Well, we along like everyone else feel we're being ripped off. We ordered the TED 5000 and hooked it up to our electrical panel. Give you three guesses and the first two don't count. HYDRO ONE is double charging us for using. According to the TED 5000 we are using half the electricity they say we are. This rip off has been happening since December of last year 2010 and we're fed up. I have spoken to Hydro One on numerous occasions and they told me "IT'S YOUR PROBLEM". We were told to contact Measurements Canada to complain we think our meter is inaccurate and purchased the TED 5000 this month. So what do we do now? We're going to track the usage, file a complaint to Measurements Canada and they will change our meter....We feel sorry for people who cannot afford the hydro bills. We pay our bills each month and we're both at work all. SERIOUSLY. Any suggestions, do we start to cause problems so we're heard?????
Hydro One Smart Meter
Well, we along like everyone else feel we're being ripped off. We ordered the TED 5000 and hooked it up to our electrical panel. Give you three guesses and the first two don't count. HYDRO ONE is double charging us for using. According to the TED 5000 we are using half the electricity they say we are. This rip off has been happening since December 2010 and we're fed up. I have spoken to Hydro One on numerous occasions and they told me "IT'S YOUR PROBLEM". We were told to contact Measurements Canada to complain we think our meter is inaccurate and purchased the TED 5000 this month. So what do we do now? We're going to track the usage, file a complaint to Measurements Canada and they will change our meter....We feel sorry for people who cannot afford the hydro bills. We pay our bills each month and we're both at work all day. SERIOUSLY! Any suggestions, do we start to cause problems so we're heard?????
BC Hydro Smart Meters--a mouthful
You folks in Ontario are not alone. Here in BC we are in the middle of Smart Meter installation. Actually, a Hydro rep stated that 99% of BCers are in favour of Smart Meters. What he neglected to say was that many of those 99% did not want a Smart Meter but were intimidated for fear of having their power off, and that BC province legislated that everyone had to have one. There were no public consultations, since the first notice in newspapers in 2008, in spite of my asking the premier. The price then was cited to be $500,000 for the whole province. In 2010 it went up to $900,000 and this morning in the news it is going to be $1 Billion, and possibly rising, particularly if they have to undo what they have done.
Citizens for Safe Technology have a website and have a lawyer who is challenging the forcing of Smart Meters on everyone, in spite of health and privacy concerns, not to mention safety, as there are many incidents where Smart Meters had interfered with an anti arc switch and wires heated up and burned the house, or in some cases, appliances. Some of us have mailed BC Hydro to let them know we do not want a meter, have posted a sign beside our wired meter (see Citizens for Safe Technology website for a form you can print), and another post, saying that we are on the Hold List of BC Hydro. Apparently, we and others who have done the same, are on the same list and slated to have the meters installed "last". This, to me, is a constitutional issue. We have rights to "security of person" in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Provinces do have the power to legislate on power issues, the Canada Constitutional Act. However, it may need to go to court to determine our rights to security of our health. I doubt that Hydro companies want us to opt out, as that would leave them without us to pay, especially if many of us declare that we will opt out, rather than expose ourselves to such questionable technology. There is also the issue re fires. Hydro companies will not pay the damages, and one's insurance company requires a deductible, and likely will raise insurance fees after claims are made. Bees are affected by electromagnetic wireless energy and once the Smart Grid is all in place all over the planet, as is planned, what will be the effect on our major pollinators, and on our food sources? Have you heard of the Site "C" dam that BC Hydro wants to build in northern BC, by flooding a huge mass of valuable farmland? The Hydro is slated for shale gas exploration, fracking, the Enbridge pipeline, the Alberta tar sands, and uranium mining in the North West Territories. BC Hydro says we need the extra energy, but it is not for the average resident. It is for these huge "economic", environmentally damaging projects. Schools are removing wireless computers that have been affecting students and 47 cities, I believe, in the U.S. are removing Smart Meters. Manitoba installed Smart Meters without informing residents that the meters are wireless. When hydro companies tell us that they are as safe as cell phones (I don't use them) and that they operate for no more than one minute per day, why should we believe them, after they have misled us on costs, safety aspects, and torn off Do Not Install signs and installed the meters anyway? How can one trust a government and its hydro company when they impose a law, without consultation or proper informing?
The stupid meters are great!
The stupid meters are great! Instead of them being accountable and financially responsible they are forcing me to be. Latest bill: 100kwh down from 800kwh a year ago. 8 times less usage but the bill is still almost half of what it was for 800kwh of usage. For me this represents a quadrupling in costs. Are they punishing those that conserve the most? Next stop off grid solar. Thank NAFTA for the cheap Chinese panels and zero jobs. Lol idiots.
RATES GO UP AGAIN
Rates went up 3% on Nov. 1st. My usage went down about 20% in response to this latest cash grab. How? I switched to all LED lighting.
CFL has bad power factor meaning that an 11watt bulb is actually burning 18watts. Consequently I replaced 60watts (actually uses 90watts) of CFL with 18watts LED. Now I am using 5 times less energy. This is a permanent change my family and I have made in an effort to boycott Ontario hydro and it's ongoing legacy of debt reduction charges and other billing anomalies.
No savings for switching to off peak courtesy Dalton's stupid meters means the only way to save is to www.flickoff.org.
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Dumb and dumber
Hahaha that takes the bloody cake - energy resellers trying to curbside "services" on here. Unsuprisingly kumar has not provided a list of satisfied customers or any actual pricing information his company provides. Not that any educated consumer actually cares. How are those global adjustments working out kumar? Roflmao.
BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU
Here's a little clip from Richard Wakefileds blog and his take on energy retailers:
Tuesday, September 13, 2011DO NOT SIGN UP WITH RETAILERS
by Richard Wakefield
Because of the BullFrog BS, I will post this again.
DO NOT SIGN UP WITH RETAILERS!!!
You will pay a LOT more for power. There is NO SAVINGS to be had with fixed rates. These retailers MUST include the Global Adjustment (See IESO for price) which can DOUBLE your rates. Today the GA is 4.46 ¢/kWh while the hourly price is 3.56 ¢/kWh. This is because we have a glut of power on line, and when that happens the hourly price drops, and the GA increases.
So when retailer reps come to the door to try and sign you up, tell them to piss off.
Electricity Prices in Ontario
Electricity Prices Going Up
Ontario Energy Board has announced new electricity prices effective May 1 , 2011
For consumers with Time of use billing
On-peak = 10.7 cents/kWh
Mid-peak = 8.9 cents/kWh
Off-peak = 5.9 cents/kWh
For RPP
Upto 600 units 6.8 c/kwh
above 600 units 7.9 c/kwh
More details also available on 680 news website.
http://www.680news.com/news/local/article/214793--ontario-electricity-prices-jump-slightly-as-of-may-1-adds-4-to-6-per-month
More information
http://www.oeb.gov.on.ca/OEB/Consumers
http://www.ieso.ca/imoweb/siteshared/electricity_bill.asp
Please have a look at various options given by Planet Energy
http://acncanadaenergy.ca/en/info/productGuide
Details of Historical rates
http://acncanadaenergy.ca/uploads/assets/ACN_Monthly_Variable_Pricing.pdf
Please visit my website or contact me for further information.
Nimeshkumar Shah
Independent Business owner
ACN Planet Energy
Business ID 02242829
Personal website: http://nimeshshah.acndirect.com
Email shah.nimesh@hotmail.com
Phone : 647-462-6694,
Hydro need to be stopped abusing the citizens of Ontario
It is an absolute travesty that Hydro Ottawa is allowed to force this abusive system onto consumers who have no choice but to accept it. There have been articles in the press that hydro is threatening to cut off electricity as punishment to people who will not conform and install a Smart Meter. The province of Ontario already charges taxes that are far too high and this is not a case of just another $10. We need to stop this type of dictatorial corporate behavior regarding a necessity of life, i.e., heat in the cold and cool in the heat. I applaud you for this blog, Dan Matan. I wonder if you've written anything about the price of gas?
MORE EXCITING NEWS!!!
THE BIG QUESTION??
Is Ontario hydro and its 15,000 handsomely compensated employees aware that 90% of them can be replaced by something called a "solar panel" now?
Zero maintenance. Zero personnel to operate. Zero operating costs. Zero fuel. Zero emissions. Zero rocket scientists. Zero CEOs. Zero middlemen. Thats alot of zeros plus I probably missed a few. The really incredible thing though is how fast "zero" is going to replace "billions" overnight. Energy crysis solved.
Sexy looking business model huh? I guess it's going to be kinda like what happened to bell telephone operators and bank tellers - except in that case people liked them.
ELIMINATE THE MIDDLEMAN?
I love the new business model. How "fast" are you going to "adopt"?
I am "adopting" it RIGHT NOW.
Your friend,
B. Cott
Mr. Cott: Just what kind of
Mr. Cott: Just what kind of system do you plan on installing?
I agree that, with the way electricity pricing keeps going, generating electricity one's self will be the better option, but probably not with solar.
TOU REALLY WORKS!
It does???? Over the course of the last 12 months I used a battery bank and conservation techniques to transfer 80% of my usage to off peak. Got the bills. Analyzed them. Amount saved: NOTHING (in terms of cost per KWH for changing my usage behavior). Hmmmmmm seems kinda FALSE OR MISLEADING to me.
No change in overall pricing per kilowatt no matter what I did. No real savings at all (unless you stop using it) anyway you slice it between 200-800 KWH range of monthly usage. If you defer use to off peak they increase the delivery rates (or other) so as to maintain an average cost of 20 cents per kilowatt hour (plus or minus 1.3 cents per KWH typically). I TRANSFERRED 80% OF MY USAGE TO OFF PEAK TO VERIFY THESE FACTS. LOL. Neat little shell game though - definitely lots of fun to play. Monopoly is my favorite game too. So is lemon aid stand economics. If you double prices....
ROFL.
Electricity Prices in Ontario
I have a better solution. Please visit my website for more details or send me an email for more information.
You must be careful with
You must be careful with battery banks, you lose a lot of efficiency in the charge/discharge cycle, especially in seasons where this thermal output is a bad thing. Battery life isn't infinite either.
I personally suspect that overall price increases were implemented at the time of TOU billing implementation to hide the increases.
Battery bank bailout
Lead acid battery technology has been in use for over 100 years. Safe. Trusted. Reliable. Powerful. Inexpensive. 90% charge/dishcarge efficiency is typical except that you don't have to pay a multi taxed loss adjustment factor fee on top of it. There is a reason why they are still around and used in every car on the road with zero competition to this day. Thermal issues can be resolved by storing them in climate controlled areas. People that own RV's and boats know what I am talking about as they are already off grid.
Cheap batteries last up to 10 years. That's a long time. A $600 battery bank that lasts 10 years only costs $60 a year. Is that alot of money? I spend more on coffee lol. Good batteries can last 10 or 20 years. It's really not that hard. You will see posts that say you need hundreds off $300 batteries. You don't. For a big system you are talking a couple grand and it will last a couple of decades. I actually built my system overnight in direct response to TOU using readily available off the shelf components. Hooking up 12v is really easy. I had 4 blackouts here in the last 5 months and my off grid system has had none. I am using all LED lighting now as well so my consumption is virtually nothing. TOU is a scam and I am joining the boycott hydro movement.
Shut Up
Only read a few comments but you people are insane. Boycotting hydro will only make the situation worse; it is a huge network that needs to be fixed as it is our only reliable source. All the posts I read said they still use hydro when they need it, well guess what, if its not there you don't get to flush your toilet, or maybe you hippies use outhouses. I am only 30 so my generation was not involved in the screw up of hydro but we have to pay for it, thanks for the "me decade (80's)". Suck it up buttercup and deal with the situation instead of run from it. And besides, just before I found this post I calculated my hydro bill with a smart meter and the HST added on and I am paying $10 more a month, not going to kill me. For my actual usage I paid $2.93 more, and that was on a $200 plus bill and with 2 AC's running because it was too hot for my young kids. Most months I figure I save money because of the smart meters. Plus most of the posts I read seem to be by childless single men who don't have anything else in life but complain about the government, my kids would not wait for me to heat their meal by candle light. The best part is I bet most of you have wasted more energy than I will use in my lifetime, the situation was created and hidden from us under the conservatives and now that the Liberals are trying to fix it it's their fault. You people that complain about the current situation are just stupid and ignorant. The Liberals didn't put us here.
re. SHUT UP <--HAHA YOU SHOULD FLICK OFF
re. SHUT UP
HAHA YOU SHOULD FLICK OFF
I did! Installing solar panels and practicing conservation assisted me in reducing my usage by a factor of 4 with NO COMPROMISE in my standard of living. 4 times less taxation. 4 times less profiteering. 4 times less billable electricity requires 4 times less generating capacity. It looks like I just solved alot of problems by "flicking off" as per the ingenious "FLICK OFF" campaign. Haha thanks guys! Great website BTW. I'm FLICKING OFF like you told me to and its working! Who knew it was so easy to just turn everything off? I never would have known if it wasn't for the website! Real life saver.
Here's the funny part - since I saved so much money my standard of living actually increased. One example is instead of giving them money for nothing now I go out and buy big fat juicy steaks for me and my family to enjoy. When I get home I throw them on the BBQ and cook them using SECRET TECHNOLOGY that requires NO ELECTRICITY. How did I do it? Is it magic? All I can say is I love BBQ'ing and I am more than happy if I get an excuse to do more! Slow roasted meats, beans, stews, fish, vegetables, etc. - I can cook everything on it and I will now thanks to you guys! Mmmmmmmm.....NO ELECTRICITY.
Hey anyways here's that cool website I was talking about earlier. Check it out! It's really cool...
http://www.flickoff.org/
Lots of great tips!*
Enjoy! :D
*This website, including articles, is property of 2242356 Ontario Ltd.
typical post from a liberal supporter
First off it's easy to blame someone else for the errors of the world. We older people blamed our parents, you blame us, just wait, your kids will blame you for everything that is wrong. My family trys to do everything in off hours to save on our hydro costs. My bill still TRIPLED !!! Fees for this, fees for that, you really don't get it do you ? If the liberals are so great then why has our debt soared under their leadership ? Taxes have risen so much that eventually YOU will not be able to afford some of the most basic items you need.
Your right about wasting energy as I have wasted enough on your idiotic views..............
duh
Among many issues with your post, we are in the worst economy since the 1920's and we are not out of it. I bet your one of those people who blame Barack Obama because he is the head of the snake right now, because heaven forbid George Bush did anything wrong. The best part is that people like you are now trying to conserve energy to save money, not because you care about the planet. I bet your one of the people who still don’t believe in global warming, because everyone is out to get YOU. I hope your kids see you as an arrogant prick, because you can tell by your tone. Typical conservative supporter with their head up their own... but you right, your not worth the energy.
your right.if I'm a prick
your right.if I'm a prick your an idiot !
Smart Meter rental
When smart meters first appeared I remember reading that we were to be charged $4.00 a month rental fee plus tax.
This rental fee seems to hidden somewhere in paperwork.
Any info on this?
Why should we have to pay HST on the debt retirement?
HYDRO ONES RIDICULOUS DELIVERY CHARGE
I to have a cottage and just received my bill for 3 months. I used $285.00 in hydro. However, Hydro One charged me $416.00 to deliver it and $25.00 for their debt retirement plus HST ontop of all that, for a grand total of $768.00. WOW!!! Another mortgage thanks to McGuinty and friends.
It does kind of make sense
It does kind of make sense though. Your cottage is most likely quite far away from the vast majority of power generation.
hydro one
Bought a cottage march 5th. Since then I used 370.00 in hydro up to August 16th. My bill, 1092.00.????????
I got a $4000 bill for my cottage and I am not even there!
Hahaha I love reading posts like that. You know that 99% of these losers pay it as soon as hydro claps their hands. They just bend over and take it then cry about it on here. Good job Sheeple, you sure showed them. All ready for your next fleecing?
I actually have a new found respect for Ontario hydro in this regard. Who else could scam so many people for so much money and get away with it? Take em to court and if you win they charge you for it on your next bill. Who else in the world could get away with doing that?
It's hilarious that people are actually dumb enough to just hand over thousands of dollars to them. Did you get any Nigerian gold with that? Want to buy some rainforest? Yeah you sure showed them. I bet they are laughing as hard as I am when they read these little cry baby Sheeple posts. I bet you would make a nice sweater.
POWER TO THE SHEEPLE!!
So Sheeple, what do you
So Sheeple, what do you suggest we do genius. You laugh, yet you say take them to court and if they win, they'll bill you for it. So whats the plan idiot. Seasonal customers pay huge now. I'm at the cottage summer and winter but unless you are there for 4 days a week for 8 months of the year (obviously rules made by retired hydro one exec's) then you cant be considered residential. So seasonal pay through the nose for 1 part(distribution volume charge) of the 4 part delivery charge at 8.257 cents per kWh while the guy next door can say he's a resident paying 3.267 cents per kWh while he enjoys his 4 month trip to Florida. This part of the delivery charge is two and a half times the price of the hydro you used. Where did they come up with this outrages factor? And yes we also pay $24 a month even if we use 0 electricity. So, should we all become residents since they know they can get away with this rip off. Only thing left to do since complaints are laughed at by hydro one, ombudsman, oeb, government and bloggers like you. THEN WE'LL GET POWER TO THE SHEEPLES AT A PROPER AND FAIR RATE.
So Sheeple, your laughing yet
So Sheeple, your laughing yet you suggest if we take hydro one to court they will only charge us on our next bill if we win. So genius, whats your plan idiot. If your seasonal, you pay huge. 8.257 cents per kWh but if your there at your cottage for 4 days a week for 8 months of the year your residential and you pay only 3.267 cents per kWh which is only 1 part of 4 parts that make up their delivery charge(distribution volume charge). So the only way out is to become a resident like the retired hydro one employees who spend summers at the cottage and winters in Florida. I think I solved my huge seasonal rip off delivery charge problem.
????
????
Baaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!
You are welcome. Watch out for those higher rural delivery charges though. You are going to make thousands and thousands of rich executives very happy.
No charges for lower rates
Smart meters transmit to the hydro offices kwh used and when. But this never appears on the bills. The bills only show total kwh used. How do we know we are being charged at lower rates?
Tips to reduce your usage.
OEB reduce the rates? Hahaha that's a good one. I am so sick of the decades of mismanagement there that now I just want to boycott them altogether. Why keep rewarding them? Here is my list of tips for conserving the maximum amount possible.
TOU: the obvious one. Try to use power during off peak to get the better rate.
Lighting: switch to cfl and candles and led
Cooking: eat more food that doesn't require cooking: salads, sandwiches, etc. Also I have been experimenting with cooking using tealites. It works! Some things are easier than others. But you can cry bacon, cook pancakes, make pasta - just about anything you cook stove top can be done on tealites. It is fun experimenting and they cost less than hydro! Cooking represents a large portion of my electrical bill and I have managed to replace 50-70% of my cooking on candles. - it's now part of my daily routine and it feels good knowing that I am actively doing something while they continue to exploit their captive market. BBQ more often! Now I hardly use electricity to cook.
Microwave ovens: I plugged mine into a kilowatt and it read off the scale at over 2000 watts. I no longer use my microwave. You can reheat many things on candles. I reheat all my frozen leftovers this way now rather than give business to a corrupt monopoly. Boycott.
Standby power: Unplug everything you are not using or put them on switchable power bars. Why give them money for nothing?
Radio: I switched to a solar powered am/fm radio after the tou was introduced and all the subsequent rate increases. Fight fire with fire. If rates double then I try to use half as much. You can offset all their greedy market manipulations. The radio also has a led lite which I actually use now instead of turning on lights.
Tv: energy star 40" LCD uses 80 watts on low brightness and 120 watts on max. Doesn't really matter much since I cancelled my Rogers cable and switched to free HDTV by installing a hd antenna. $900 a year in savings. Adios rogeros. They refused to give me any deals until I told them to cancel my account. Then they were tripping over themselves to offer me packages and special offers. Too late.
Computers: switched from a high power desktop to a laptop that uses 10 times less power. I used to leave my Internet router and modem on all the time. Although they together only use 10 watts checking further reveals that their power supplies are only 50% efficient meaning they are actually using 20 watts. They get shut off when not in use now.
Solar power: I bought and installed my own 200 watt solar array. I get about 800 watts a day for free ( no stupid taxes, delivery fees or other imaginary charges). Not much but since I only use 5 kwh a day or less it actually represents almost 20% of my needs. Not bad for a couple off cheap panels! This means I am just a few panels away from total independence from the grid. Not only that but my battery bank allows me to use my own power during on peak /mid peak time of use bs. Then if I am running low I plug it in to recharge during off peak.
Fridge: I have an energy star fridge that only uses 635 kwh per year. That's about 1.73 kwh per day. This is cheap to run but still represents nearly 40% of my daily usage. Eventually I would like to get a sunsaver fridge that only uses 0.121 kwh per day. They are the same price as regular fridges.
Before I started doing this I was using 20 kw a day. Now I am just a few solar panels away from being virtually off grid. I expect to get my usage down below 3 kwh per day. The goal is to go off grid completely someday. I refuse to pay these idiots $0.70 in taxes and fees for every $0.30 worth of electricity that I use. We have all seen to what great use all that money went to create ontario hydro. They sold it off at 50 cents on the dollar and they are making us pay for it twice plus debt retirement. Are they smoking crack? There is nothing they can do to fix this situation. It is seriously out of control. They went bankrupt once already and now they are bankrupting this province and its residents. Time to boycott the monopoly.
SMART METERS
We have them here and our hydro is 3x the amount, we are paying for McGuinty/Harper and the bloated government and ontario hydro, not to mention solar which DOESN'T work in Canada !! And we use our hydro on off peak - ITS A MONEY GRAB!!!
BOYCOTT THESE LOSERS
Actually solar does work and not only that but it is both free and tax free. I love it because I am using solar power to boycott them and their corrupt broken system and decreasing their tax revenue streams that is feeding this whole pile of garbage. Win win win win! That's 4 wins!
The current government is making solar look bad by pitting ratepayers against each other: rewarding microFIT installations by punishing everyone else during a crysis. Yet another stupid and uneducated move on the governments behalf and bad timing to boot. But that's what you get when you hire a lawyer/politician to do an engineers job. They have done a very poor job of managing the situation and the microFIT incentives are grossly inflated bordering on fraud. They will decrease over time or be cancelled all together. Anyone greedy enough to attempt to capitalize on microFIT is apparently oblivious to the history of gov incentives (they disappear overnight with the next change in gov) and ignorant of hydros 50 to 100 odd years of corruption that ended in a massive collapse. I would advise you to seek out better business partners in your future business endeavors. If you got duped don't worry your not alone - all of Ontario got duped. Creating artificial rates and getting extorted to the tune of billions of dollars by the failed nuclear industry is what got us into this mess in the first place. Gov solution: keep doing it. I guarantee you that if we had actual competition no one would pay these microFIT installations $0.80. You got hustled.
As I post this I am doing so on my laptop which is off grid solar powered while I cook my morning breakfast of oatmeal on tealite candles. Net power usage from the failed monopoly: ZERO. My hydro bills are down to almost nothing aside from $60-70 per bill in imaginary expenses, ceo golden parachutes, overpaid sunshine list unions, and delivery fees and fraudulent debt payments. I do not agree with any of this and I am going to take my business elsewhere any way I can. I would rather starve, sit alone in the dark or spend whatever it takes to boycott them. What are you willing to do? Standing on the shoulders of giants: I want to give my thanks to other posters for all their valuable information. It is obvious to me that we cannot fight this broken corrupt pile of garbage because it is a monopoly and we are a captive market. Even if you win all you won is a pile of garbage and lies. The only solution is to boycott and vote with our dollar. That is the only thing these idiots understand. I refuse to play their game. Sinking to their level means you have already lost. The fight you can win starting today is to boycott. Turn everything off. Trust me it feels good. Get started on your backyard solar project. The panels are down to $0.74 a watt. It's cheap. It's happening now. DIY and forget about microFIT.
Against Smart meters in Ottawa
Is there a support group in place ready to challenge Hydro Ottawa from forcably installing Smart Meters against our collective will? How long can we stall the company from putting one of these in our home? Is there a legal route to resisting installation> Please advise.
Uhhhh, what is the exact
Uhhhh, what is the exact problem you have with the Smart Meters?
Health Effects of Smart Meters
Hydro One installed SMART METER on my house last year since then i have had headaches, and have been feeling sick.
This meter is on the outside wall behind the headboard of my bed.
i have tried to have it replaced with and old style meter but hydro one insists that they will not do this.
My bills have sky rocketed, and i am falling further and further behind,... now they have told me i have to pay a securiry deposit of $800.00 or my hydro will be terminated.
I doubt the meters are
I doubt the meters are causing your headaches or sickness.
In what way have your bills sky-rocketed, are you using more electricity, or just at the "wrong" times?
Health effects of RF energy aka the stupid meters
Recently cell phones were linked to increased rates of brain cancers and other health problems. We all knew that holding a microwave transmitter against our head was probably unhealthy. 30 years later: confirmed. Similarly the smart meters are even higher powered transmitters and they are transmitting our usage statistics to the mother ship 24/7 irradiating our homes and the general environment with increased levels of unhealthy RF energy constantly. Please enjoy responsibly. Some people are very sensitive to this energy and it produces nausea or interferes with their sleep patterns thereby compromising their immune systems leading to a variety of seemingly unrelated health effects. These types of claims have been validated by the medical and scientific communities. On this basis they will probably be seeing a huge amount of court cases that will probably be successful. These dimwits could have used x20 technology whereby you transmit the info over the wires instead - but hey that would have been smart. These are stupid meters that we are talking about here installed by a stupid desperate company that doesn't give a $h1t about it's customers other than to figure out new ways to rip them off. Their legacy not only lives on but it's getting worse. Boycott the corrupt stupid monopoly. They could have done this with "wired" technology. Maybe they can spray your home with agent orange next service visit. That's safe too.
smartmeters
Actually they will be causing your sicknesses, headaches like thousands of other people are reporting all over north america.
otherwise healthy people with Zero of these symptoms all "get them" some within hours of installation.
Hundreds of dr's confirm this. If people's plants are dying all around these meters, what do you think it does to humans?
Here DAN why dont you do us all a favour on your blog, we can even do a $1000 wager to "prove you right"
Take two, four whatever amount of plants you want take one group and water with normal water....
Take the second and use microwaved water that has been let to cool, water for a few weeks after about 5 watering most of them will be dead or very close. Let your kids have fun and do this 'harmless' family experiment.
Let us all know the results! (ps anyone else who does this plants die sometimes within days).... HARMLESS????
Hydro Delivery Charges
My total bill Mar 8 to May 9, 2011 $71.08 minus $46.82 = $24.26 is for only consumption of electricity. I stay alone and use maximu lights and a TV. Last bill delivery (charge) $16.38. I am surprised why recent bill entry of deliery $46.82.
What is this, baby delivered in hospital and coming in this world to use hydro is ot this much as delivery is free in govt. hospital and electricy delivery is really too much.
Dumb meters and Norman bates
I switched all lighting to cfl and cut my total kwh usage by 67%. But with tou peak and mid rates basically double previous rates my bill has only increased. What a broken and screwed system. Businesses will leave this province due to a lack of affordable energy and then so will citizens. A real tribute to effective government. The biggest slap in the face is that they have cheap surplus energy as a result of successful conservation efforts by the citizens of ontario they are selling to other provinces and the states. They paid a $250 million fine to Bruce power for not buying enough electricity from them. Dalton there aren't any words in the dictionary to describe what you have done to ontarians. Tax payers want accountability laws asap. Instead of stupid combatitve governments that can't balance budgets or represent their tax payers. When I retire I will be off grid for sure. Ontario has a $90 billion deficit. Toronto has a $6 billion deficit. Not long until the collapse I figure - just like Rome. Just keep raising taxes and borrowing money while letting the deficits grow. Soon your credit rating will be so bad that your friends at the banks will reject your loan applications = government collapse. Sell all publicly held and paid for assets for peanuts and authorize private companies to rip us off. Yay Ontario! Yours to discover! Go back to chasing ambulances Norman bates. How do these retards get into power?
the way we are billed.
The dept charge, the lose facter charge. electric is grounded there is no such a thing as loss facter. And there is no such a thing as a dept, what aboat the forty million doller prfit every three moaths where is my count of that.
Is this even possible
This week I received an interim bill
These are actual readings - nothing has changed except on the interim bill it states interim bill due to meter and rate change - so I am assuming that they installed smart meters in my building. By my estimation the most recent bill should be approx 2 kwh less than it was.
Mar 31, 2011 6.074 kwh 90 days or .06478 per day
dec 31, 2011 2.616 kwh 71 days or .03684 per day
october 20, 2010 2.703 kwh 58 days or .04660 per day
aug 23, 2010 2.016 kwh
I don't know what to do. I am a single parent - we live in a rental on one income and with these kind of bills added to rent I could be living someplace way nicer for what amounts to $1600 + a month.
Also I dont quite understand the frequency of the bills. Any ideas?
smart meters
Has anyone noticed?? Since this meter has been installed on my house,I have headaches, dizziness, high blood pressure!!
Once I go away from my home I feel normal again!! anyone else?
smart meters
yes i have the same thing
i sent 1000 documents to the Canadian and Ontario Government on the Dangers asking for a RCMP investigation in heath canada and a ban on smart meters
we need people to stand up at election time and ask Q
wireless smart meters
I have not been feeling well since a smart meter was installed in my basement, directly underneath my bed. This is no joke, these things are definitely causing people to get sick with a whole variety of symptoms. Just search around on google and you will find a great deal of information. The following report is particularly useful:
http://sagereports.com/smart-meter-rf/
Wireless smart meters are a major health disaster in the making. In the coming months and years this will be proven and there will be hell to pay.
I strongly doubt this is
I strongly doubt this is caused by the meter, look elsewhere for the causes.
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