The biggest single component in your hydro bill has hit a record high, just as a wave of bad energy news breaks over Ontario.

The “global adjustment” – a murky fee that doesn’t even show up directly on many bills – soared to 7.9 cents a kilowatt hour (kwh) in November.

Last year, it had averaged less than 5 cents a kwh. This year, it had been averaging 6.1 cents.

Now it’s approaching 8 cents, and even if you don’t see it – you pay it.

It’s embedded within the time of use rates that most householders pay. Since current time of use rates range from 7.2 cents a kwh off-peak to 12.9 cents on-peak, the impact of the global adjustment within those rates is clear.

If the trend continues, a jump in the global adjustment from 6 cents a kwh to nearly 8 cents will push prices higher when time of use prices are re-set next year.

The final November fee, calculated on Friday spurted into record territory, just as the Liberal government is being hammered for out of control energy prices.

The global adjustment is levied to pay for a mish-mash of contract prices made to both public and private power generators who receive more than the market price for their power.

Combining the global adjustment with the market price of power, the total wholesale price – one paid directly by many businesses – comes to over 10 cents a kilowatt hour for November.

That’s up sharply from last year, when the total price averaged 7.37 cents, and the first 10 months of the year, when the average came to 8.55 cents.

Delivery, regulatory and debt retirement are added to the energy price to make up the total bill.

The global adjustment is needed because most power producers in Ontario are paid more than the market price.

The market price so far this year has averaged just 2.6 cents a kilowatt hour.

But publicly owned Ontario Power Generation, the province’s biggest generator has received an average of 5.8 cents a kilowatt hour for its output this year.

The remaining, privately owned, generators average 9.8 cents. Bruce Power, for example, got 6.2 cents a kwh in the third quarter this year. Wind power producers are offered 11.5 cents a kwh for new projects (those operating under older contracts get 13.5 cents); solar power, up to 39.6 cents for new contract.

The global adjustment is charged to make up the gap between the market price and the higher, non-market prices that most producers actually receive.

It’s a lot of money. In November, the total global adjustment payment came to $847 million. Of that, $192 million went to OPG, and the remainder to private power companies.

The soaring global adjustment comes a week after the government released the latest version of its long term energy plan, which predicts steadily rising hydro rates.

Prices will continue to rise because the province is about to shut down its final coal-burning plants, which produced cheap but dirty power. Instead, it is turning to natural gas-fired plants and renewable sources.

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A typical monthly household bill of $125 this year will rise to $137 next year and $167 by 2016, according to the latest provincial plan.

The record global adjustment also comes the week the auditor-general delivered a damning audit of OPG. The audit showed swollen executive ranks at the company. It also showed that OPG pays about $5 into its pension plans for every dollar contributed by employees – a ratio matched at publicly-owned Hydro One.

Elsewhere in the Ontario public service, the province and employees contribute roughly equal amounts.