Toronto Hydro Alert: High Electricity Bills Tied to Record-Setting Cold Weather this Season

TORONTO, Feb. 28, 2014 /CNW/ - According to Environment Canada, it's been the coldest winter in at least a decade. Frigid temperatures have been driving up electricity usage and Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited (Toronto Hydro) has observed an increase in customers' bills ranging from an average of nine per cent for typical gas heated homes to 23 per cent for typical electrically heated homes.

Toronto Hydro encourages customers to monitor and manage their use
Toronto Hydro offers online services to make monitoring daily electricity usage and managing costs easy. Customers can monitor their daily usage through the Time-of-Use online tool, set up cost threshold alerts and 'predict my bill' weekly notifications. A mobile friendly version is also available. Customers can sign up at mytorontohydro.com

As the cold weather is predicted to continue, Toronto Hydro offers the following tips to manage your energy bill:

• Shift appliance use to off-peak times.
• Lower the thermostat a few degrees and dress accordingly.
• Limit the use of electric space heaters. If possible, only use space heaters in the off-peak time of use period.
• Make sure cracks around doors and windows are well sealed.

More energy saving tips can be found at torontohydro.com

Toronto Hydro has a number of options to help customers with high electricity bills:

• Payment arrangements - the utility encourages customers to call 416-542-8000 instead of leaving the bill unpaid.  Payment plans can be arranged to alleviate the pressure of paying a large bill in one payment.
• Customers enrolled in the pre-authorized payment plan can sign up for equal billing to help smooth out bills and avoid expensive winter and summer bills.  To sign up, visit mytorontohydro.com or call 416-542-8000.
• The Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP) is a program that provides a one-time grant of up to $500 per year to eligible customers having difficulty paying a 'past due' bill.  Income eligibility information can be found at torontohydro.com/leap.

About Toronto Hydro
Toronto Hydro-Electric System owns and operates an electricity distribution system, which delivers electricity to approximately 726,000 customers located in the city of Toronto. It is the largest municipal electricity distribution company in Canada and distributes approximately 19% of the electricity consumed in the province of Ontario.

Our World. Our City. Our Responsibility. See what we are doing to be safe, reliable and sustainable at torontohydro.com/responsibility

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SOURCE: Toronto Hydro Corporation

Tanya Bruckmueller, Toronto Hydro-Electric System
[email protected]
W: 416-542-2621
C: 416-903-0440