Glossary of Terms for Low Volume Electric Customers

This page provides a definition of energy terms that are found on your electricity bill.

Definitions for Low Volume Consumers

Effective Date: July 1, 2015

Electricity    

This is the cost of the electricity supplied to you during this billing period and is part of the bill that is subject to competition.

Delivery    

These are the costs of delivering electricity from generating stations across the Province to Kingston Hydro Corporation then to your home or business. This includes the costs to build and maintain the transmission and distribution lines, towers and poles and operate provincial and local electricity systems.

A portion of these charges are fixed and do not change from month to month. The rest are variable and increase or decrease depending on the amount of electricity that you use.

The delivery charge also includes costs relating to electricity lost through distributing electricity to your home or business.* Kingston Hydro Corporation collects this money and pays this amount directly to our suppliers.

*When electricity is delivered over a power line, it is normal for a small amount of power to be consumed or lost as heat. Equipment, such as wires and transformers, consumes power before it gets to your home or business.

Regulatory Charges     

‘Regulatory Charges’ are the costs of administering the wholesale electricity system and maintaining the reliability of the provincial grid and include the costs associated with funding Ministry of Energy conservation and renewable energy programs.

Debt Retirement Charge    

The ‘Debt Retirement Charge’ pays down the debt of the former Ontario Hydro.

Global Adjustment    

Electricity generators in Ontario receive a combination of payments from the operation of the wholesale market, payments set by regulation and payments under contracts. Your portion of the net adjustments arising from these and other authorized payments is included on your bill as the ‘Global Adjustment’.

For more information, visit Understanding Your Electricity Bill at the Utilities Kingston website.