Ornella Montini has tried installing LED lights, reducing her air conditioning use, hang drying her laundry, and using electricity when prices are cheapest — but nothing seems to stop the rise of her hydro bill.

She has seen her home's monthly electricity bill rise from about $120 to more than $300 in the last five years with Burlington Hydro.

"How do you justify that kind of money?" asked Montini.

In an effort to combat negative reactions from rising electricity prices, the Liberal government announced Monday it would be cutting the province's eight-per-cent share of HST on power bills. Nine months ago, the province eliminated a 10-per-cent reduction on electricity bills in the form of the Clean Energy Benefit program.

The change will mean an average annual saving of about $130 for urban hydro users and $540 for rural.

Montini is skeptical that the tax break will negate price increases.

"They are going to keep raising the prices anyways," she said.

The cost of electricity at Montini's hair salon — Ornella Barber and Hair Styling — means she's now paying $600 in overages at the end of the year to bridge what's not covered by her rent. When she started her business five years ago, her electricity usage was completely covered.

"Mom and pop shops are having a hard time making a living — I'm making a loss," said Montini.

Montini is now reducing her grocery spending.

"Now, I do what I actually need, not what I want," said Montini. She has switched to eating more veggies, and even freezing cabbage while they're cheap to save money in the winter.

Robert and Charlotte Field of Simcoe have been struggling to find where their money is going. They live in an 2,400 square foot bungalow with only two residents. Their home is of similar construction and size to surrounding homes, but they pay a Hydro One bill that's about twice as expensive as their neighbours.

Following recommendations from Hydro One, the retired couple installed more efficient bulbs, replaced their aging fridge and freezer, and replaced their power-sucking television. The couple follows time-of-use guidelines, their stove and water heater runs on gas, and they use a well for their water.

Charlotte says Hydro One has confirmed their meter is not an issue.

After all that work, their July hydro bill came in at $372. The couple pays monthly.

"It just boggles my mind," said Charlotte. "They've got to be wrong."

Charlotte said a Hydro One ombudsman response to their inquiry stated that the elimination of the Ontario Clean Energy Benefit, and increased rates likely caused the price of their bill to increase, despite their energy saving efforts.

Charlotte wasn't satisfied with the answer.

"Why do they promote energy savings, if it doesn't get rid of high bills?" asked Charlotte.

Hamiltonian Jim Warren is in a contract with a hydro retailer.

Even though he's locked in at a monthly rate, his "global adjustment" rate has been climbing.

The global adjustment fee has risen from about 3.5 c/kWh in the fall of 2010 to about 11.1 c/kWh on his April-May bill — giving him a $154.72 global adjustment fee on top of his $82.38 bill.

"It's impossible to understand how this is calculated. We're left in a position where we're simply being told what to pay," said Warren.

Protest planned

Mountain resident Sarah Warry-Poljanski has planned a protest in front of Hamilton city hall for Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 5 p.m. to let politicians know people are fed up with power bill shocks.

"Residents of Hamilton and all across Ontario have reached a breaking point," Sarah Warry-Poljanski says.

What you need to know: How much have rates risen?

Rates are set by the Ontario Energy Board twice per year — Nov. 1 and May 1. For most, prices are divided into off-peak, mid-peak, and on-peak rates, with off-peak being the cheapest.

In the last five years, off-peak prices have increased 47 per cent, mid-peak rates have risen 48 per cent, and on-peak peak prices have risen 67 per cent.

If you qualified for the Ontario Clean Energy Benefit program, you will also have lost the 10 per cent rebate effective Dec. 31, 2015. That loss will be offset by the province's eight-per-cent reduction of its share of HST on hydro bills.

How does Ontario stack up?

According to an August commentary from the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario, residents in this province paid more for home energy than those from Quebec, Manitoba and British Columbia, but less than the Atlantic Provinces and Alberta in 2014 at $2,358 per household, including natural gas and electricity. But when looking at after-tax income, Ontarians spent similar amounts on home energy compared to Quebec and Manitoba, significantly less than the Atlantic Provinces and considerably more than British Columbia.

How are Hamiltonians coping?

An Ontario Energy Board report released this summer shows 856 more Horizon Utilities customers — the dominant electric utility in Hamilton — are 30 or more days behind the minimum payment period in 2015 than they were in 2013.

Horizon Utilities:

2013 — 10,996 customers behind, $1,541,792 in arrears

2015 — 11,852 customers behind, $1,767,196 in arrears.

"People are making impossible choices — pay the rent, buy groceries or pay for hydro," said Tom Cooper, the director for the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction.

What are people paying?

An energy spokesperson from the OEB said the average monthly electricity bill for a typical customer using about 750 kWh per month is about $150 in Ontario.

Using the Ontario Energy Board's home energy calculator, which sets the average home at 750 kWh per month (65 per cent off-peak, 17 per cent mid-peak, and 18 per cent on-peak), rural Ontarians pay more than $50 more per month than their urban counterparts:

Burlington Hydro Inc: $144.82

Horizon Utilities: $149.18

Hydro One — Low Density/Rural: $206.64; Medium Density: $178.95; Urban — $156.30

•These prices include electricity only, not water.

Why do rural residents pay more?

The pricing structure of Hydro One's rural service is a snapshot of how prices differ from low density areas to urban areas. Because electricity prices also factor in delivery costs, less people using a specific delivery line, means the cost per customer rises.

How do I lower my bill?

The typical home uses about 60 per cent of its energy on heating and cooling, 20 per cent on water heating, 10 per cent on appliances, 5 per cent on lighting, and 5 per cent on space cooling.

•Time of Use:

You can halve the cost of running appliances such as dishwashers, stoves, ovens, washers, and dryers by running them on off-peak hours. From 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. and on weekends electricity costs 8.7 c/kWh in the summer. From 7-11 a.m. and 5-7 a.m. it costs 13.2 c/kWh. At peak hours, 11 a.m. — 5 p.m., electricity costs 18 c/kWh. Mid- and on-peak hours vary in summer and winter.

•Heating and cooling:

In the summer, the IESO recommends setting temperatures to 25 C while home and 28 C when away. For winter, the IESO recommends heating at 18 C.

•Appliances:

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An older fridge can use about 800 kWh per year. Newer energy efficient fridges can reduce that by about 400 kWh per year — potentially saving more than $50 annually. Suggested fridge settings are between -1 C to 6 C; the freezer should not be colder than -18C.

Consider using a microwave instead of an oven when possible, since it uses less power.

•Other tips:

Check windows and doors — reducing drafts can save up to 30 per cent of your heating costs.

To calculate how much your appliances are costing you, visit Hydro One's handy cost calculator at hydroone.com.

How can you get help?

Save on Energy programs are offered by the Independent Electricity System Operator through your local utility.

At Horizon Utilities there are a number of Save on Energy coupons promoting $2-$30 off energy efficient products including lighting, ceiling fans and weatherstripping.

There are up to $650 in rebates available to those who install energy efficient cooling and heating systems through participating contractors:

The province also offers Ontario Electricity Support program. To find out if you are eligible visit ontarioelectricitysupport.ca.

What's on my bill?

On a typical bill, water and electricity charges are separated.

Electricity charges will usually be separated into off-peak, mid peak and on-peak usage for the billing period.

The delivery charge is the cost of delivering electricity from power stations to your home.

The regulatory charge is the cost of operating and running the electricity system and market.

The debt retirement charge, removed in 2015 for most customers, is a charge that goes toward paying down the debt from the former Ontario Hydro. Businesses will continue to pay the charge until 2018.

If your bill was higher than normal as a Hydro One customer, visit hydroone.com and find the high bill inquiry page.

What is causing rates to go up?

Independent Electricity System Operator spokesperson Chuck Farmer says the rising costs are, in-large part, due to necessary improvements to Ontario's grid over the last decade.

Those investments have served three purposes: restoring the reliability of the system, phasing out coal-fired power generation and moving to increase the amount of renewable energy.

The result, says Farmer, has been a much cleaner, reliable grid that doesn't suffer from the same amount of blackouts and brownouts as previous years.

Energy analyst Stephen Aplin says the drive to have wind and solar tackle carbon emissions is where the brunt of the blame lies for skyrocketing prices.

While solar produced 3.5 per cent of electricity in 2014, it accounted for 18.6 per cent of the cost, says Aplin. Nuclear produced 57.6 per cent of electricity and only accounted for 39.2 per cent of the total cost in 2014.

Since wind and solar do not produce continuous output, gas production of electricity is used to smooth out electricity consumption — eliminating some of the positive environmental effects of going green, said Aplin.

Will rates continue to go up?

According to the Ontario 2013 Long-Term Energy Plan, annual cost of producing electricity is forecast to peak in about 2023.

Farmer expects costs to stabilize over the next 10 years after the current period of investment in Ontario's grid.

Analyst Aplin believes costs will stabilize at a much higher price than we are seeing now.

The government still plans to double its wind capacity, says Aplin, and is signing more and more solar and wind contracts as we speak.

What is global adjustment?

In 2013, roughly two thirds of electricity costs came from global adjustment.

Though everyone pays global adjustment, it does not appear on regular bills.

While global adjustment does include any tax credit for greening homes, the bulk of global adjustment comes from closing the gap left between the fair market price of electricity and the contracted rates for energy producers.

If a wind producer is given a 13 c/kWh contract to operate, but fair market value for electricity is 3 c/kWh, that difference is paid for through global adjustment. This also applies when that electricity is sold to the U.S. for "fair market value."

Energy producers are also paid to keep plants on standby for peaks in demand. Because their contracts stipulate they be paid, global adjustment pays for the idle power plants.

Since energy producers are signing guaranteed contracts based on demand forecasts from the OEB, the global adjustment fee must also be raised when more energy is conserved than expected.