TORONTO

Get ready to get zapped. Again.

Ontario hydro prices as of Nov. 1 — a move expected to add $4 to the average consumer’s monthly electricity cost and 3% to the total bill.

The Ontario Energy Board (OEB), which regulates hydro prices, points to a number of reasons for the increasing cost of electricity.

“Estimates for the coming year include more generation from sources including renewables along with a higher market price for natural gas,” an OEB statement says. “Another significant factor in this price change accounts for the variation between previous estimates and actual costs.”

In April, the OEB announced that electricity rates would jump about $3.63 on the ‘electricity’ line, or about 2.9% on the total monthly bill as of May 1.

The latest hydro hike comes just over a week after Ontario auditor general Bonnie Lysyk released her report that pegged cancellation costs related to the Oakville power plant at up to $815 million — most of it to be repaid over the next two decades on hydro bills.

For consumers on time-of-use pricing — and that includes most households in the province — the price of electricity during winter peak hours of 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays will rise 0.5 cents to 12.9 cents/kWh.

During the daytime weekday hours of 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the mid-peak rate will hit 10.9 cents/kWh.

The cheapest time to use electricity-gobbling appliances will remain weekends and overnight, 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., at 7.2 cents/kWh.

Time-of-use pricing was introduced under the Ontario Liberal government to encourage consumers to shift their power use away from peak times of the day and night to avoid the expense of adding extra power generation to the system.