The Global Adjustment provides both adequate energy supply and green energy for Ontario. It accounts for differences between the market price and the rates paid to regulated and contracted generators and for conservation and demand management programs. As a result, its value may be positive or negative, depending on the fluctuation of prices in the spot market.

The rate is set to reflect the difference between the market price and:

• The regulated rates paid to Ontario Power Generation’s nuclear and hydroelectric baseload generating stations;
• Payments made to suppliers that have been awarded contracts through the Ontario Power Authority such as new gas-fired facilities, renewable facilities (like wind farms) and demand response programs; and
• Contracted rates administered by the Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation paid to existing generators.

Who is affected by the Global Adjustment?

This adjustment applies to business customers who pay the spot market price and customers who have signed a contract with a licensed electricity retailer."

It is not a small charge either; for example, in North Bay it was noted:

"Todd Wilcox, North Bay Hydro's chief operating officer, said global adjustment represented $486, or 26%, of an average residential bill in 2011 of $1,362."

The REAL cost of electricity to you:

If your distributor is Hydro One Networks Inc, common for Eastern Ontario, you may be surprised, or rather astonished, to find out how much you really pay per Kilowatt hour of electricity useage.

Using the convenient on-line residential rate calculator, current low-density, meaning rural and semi-rural, electricity rates are as follows:

• A monthly bill of 800 KW-hrs costs $196.00, which equals to 24 cents per KW-hr...
• A monthly bill of 400 KW-hrs costs $129.00, which equals to 32 cents per KW-hr...
• A monthly bill of 200 KW-hrs costs $ 96.00, which equals to 48 cents per KW-hr...
• A monthly bill of 100 KW-hrs costs $ 80.00, which equals to 80 cents per KW-hr!!!

The more you conserve, the more you pay!

Using the above electricity cost estimator available on OPG's website, you immediately notice the difference between Hydro-1's advertised average electricity rate of10.9 cents / KW-hr compared to the cost to your pocketbook of 24 cents for the same KW-hr. It is well known that Hydro-1 will not provide your electricity to your home if you only pay the 10.9 cents; in actual fact you must divide your final electricity bill by the number of Kilowatt hours used in order to obtain an accurate representation of your cost per unit of power.

Astonishingly you also notice that the more electricity you conserve, the more you are charged per unit of power. Suppose you currently use 800 KW-hrs at a cost of $196.00 a month. You have an option to make important lifestyle changes as well as electrical appliance updates, reducing your comsumption to a mere quarter of the previous useage, such as 200 KW-hrs per month. Now your electricity bill is close to $96.00, half of the previous bill while you actually cut your consumption by three-quarters. If you should further reduce your consumption to half of the 200 KW-hrs, a very possible venture for a family of 4-6 people, the mere 100 KW-hrs you now consume monthly will cost $80.00 per month, a whopping 80 cents per Kilowatt hour!

The solution...

If an off-grid solar system will work for you and your lifestyle, we can help you put up a...:

• 1 KW solar system that will provide you with 100 - 150 KW-hrs per month for approximately $8700.00;
• or a 2 KW system providing 200 - 300 KW-hrs monthly for approximately $16200.00,
• a 3.2 KW solar system providing 340-480 KW-hrs per month for approximately $21900.00;

Once the system is built, you are set for a lifetime of free electricity with the exception of having to replace the storage batteries once every 8 - 10 years; this cost is approximately 20% of the cost of the entire system.

Contact us at info@green-first.com or phone 613-354-0928 for questions about off-grid systems or to place an order