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The Ontario Energy Board has announced that Ontarians’ electricity rates are going up again on Nov. 1.

The board, which sets energy prices on behalf of consumers in the province, said late Thursday that the price will push the average consumer’s bill up by about 3.4 per cent.

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The increase would add about $4.50 to the average monthly bill. This follows an increase in May, which added about $5.71 to the bill.

Energy users who perform electricity intensive tasks during peak hours will see a much larger increase, as peak energy fees will increase to 17.4 cents per kilowatt hour, up 8.7 per cent over their current amount.

With the increase, peak period prices will be more than double the amount paid by consumers who are able to tailor their energy use to off-peak hours. Off peak prices will rise by 3.75 per cent, to 8.3 cents per kilowatt hour.

The OEB said the increases were generally required because of recent investments in Ontario’s nuclear, hydro electric and green energy generating stations.