Update

July 7, 2023

Z-Factor Application Update

Elexicon Energy has received approval from its regulator – the Ontario Energy Board (“OEB”), to recover from its customers the costs to restore electricity service following the derecho storm that occurred on May 21, 2022.

Background

On May 21, 2022, a powerful derecho storm ripped through Ontario, leaving 64,000 Elexicon Energy customers without power. In addition, an EF2 tornado touched down in the Township of Uxbridge, destroying Elexicon’s Uxbridge West Substation which required a full rebuild. The costs related to the damage were substantial.

In December 2022, Elexicon filed a Z-Factor Application with the OEB for approval to recover from customers the costs to restore electricity service following the major weather event. In its filing, Elexicon requested $4.6M to manage the unexpected costs related to the storm.

On June 15, the OEB released its decision on the application and found that as the storm was outside the ability of Elexicon’s to manage within its existing rates, and that the organization was entitled to recover the costs. In total, Elexicon was approved to recoup approximately $4.1M in costs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why is this charge being added to my bill?
A: The charge is being added to your bill to recover the costs to restore electricity service following the derecho storm that occurred on May 21, 2022.

Q: When will this charge be added to my bill and how long will it be in place for?
A: The charge will appear on your July (2023) bill and the duration of the charge will be in place until rebasing on January 1, 2029.

Q: How much is this new charge?
A: The charge depends on what community you live in:

  • Whitby Rate Zone:
    • Residential customers (750 kW) will see a charge of $0.13 per month on their electricity bill from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, and reduced to $0.08 per month from July 1, 2024 until rebasing on January 1, 2029.
    • General Service (less than 50kW) customers will see a charge of $0.38 per month on their electricity bill from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, and reduced to $0.23 per month from July 1, 2024 until rebasing on January 1, 2029.
  • Veridian Rate Zone (All Other Communities)
    • Residential customers (750 kW) will see a charge of $0.22 per month on their electricity bill from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, and reduced to $0.12 per month from July 1, 2024 until rebasing on January 1, 2029.
    • General Service (less than 50kW) customers would see a charge of $0.57 per month on their electricity bill from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, and reduced to $0.31 per month from July 1, 2024 until rebasing on January 1, 2029.

Q: How much is Elexicon Energy recovering from its customers?
A: The OEB has granted Elexicon Energy permission to recover approximately $4.1M.

Q: Why am I paying for this charge, it’s your job to restore power when outages occur?
A: Elexicon Energy, along with its crews and system controllers, work hard to prevent outages but sometimes there are circumstances beyond our control such as loss of supply, animal contact and major weather events such as this one. The OEB granted Elexicon permission to recover the costs to restore power as they found that the storm was outside the ability of Elexicon’s to manage within its existing rates.