The Government of Ontario has made regulatory amendments to O.Reg.429/04 under the Electricity Act, 1998, that enables the recovery of deferred Global Adjustment (GA) charges for Class B for non-Regulated Price Plan (RPP) customers and Class A customers, starting January 1, 2021.

  • Class A and non-RPP Class B customers will begin repaying deferred Global Adjustment (GA) charges, over 12 months, starting January 1, 2021.

  • At the same time, Ontario is reducing the cost of electricity for industrial and commercial customers, by shifting a portion of non-hydro renewable energy costs to the tax base. These reductions are considerably larger than the deferral repayment costs, and the intent is for this funding to continue after the deferral recovery is complete.
  • Industrial and commercial electricity customers will automatically see these changes reflected on their bill starting in January 2021. Please Contact Us if you have questions about your bill.
 How will these changes affect electricity costs for industrial and large commercial customers?

The recovery of the deferred Global Adjustment (GA) costs will put upward pressure on costs for Class A and non-RPP Class B customers in 2021. However, this will be more than offset by the government's initiative to shift a portion of non-hydro renewable energy contract costs to the tax base. Those reductions are considerably larger than the deferral repayment costs, and the intent is for this funding to continue after the deferral recovery is complete. The result will be a significant net benefit to these customers.
 What kind of savings can Class A and non-RPP Class B customers expect to see on their bill?

Class A and non-RPP Class B customers could see savings about 11 per cent and 12 per cent respectively. After 2021, savings are expected to increase as the recovery of deferred GA costs would be complete and the funding of a portion of non-hydro renewable energy contract costs is expected to continue. Actual savings will depend on location and consumption.
How will the Global Adjustment be presented on the bill?
For customers who will be paying both the regular GA amount and the recovery GA amount, the amounts will be combined and displayed as one Global Adjustment line item on the bill.
Will households, small businesses and farms be affected? Will these customers' bills go up because of this?
No. Regulated Price Plan (RPP) customers, including residential, small business and farm customers, will not be affected by the recovery of deferred GA costs.
Why were GA costs deferred in 2020?

This Provincial initiative was intended to provide companies with temporary immediate relief on commercial and industrial customers monthly electricity bills, by holding Global Adjustment rates in line with pre-COVID-19 levels. Without this emergency relief, an industrial or commercial customer (Class B) could have seen bills increase by 15 per cent or more. 

The Global Adjustment rate for industrial and commercial customers (Class B) was set at $115 per megawatt-hour, which was roughly in line with the March 2020 value. The other industrial and commercial customers (Class A) received the same percentage reduction in Global Adjustment charges as Class B customers. 

The deferred costs were intended to be recovered by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) over a 12-month period, starting January 1, 2021.

More on Ontario's temporary deferral of Global Adjustment (GA) charges.