The current cold snap is pushing Ontario electricity prices into record territory.

Three of the five highest-priced days recorded on Ontario’s wholesale electricity market have occurred since the onset of cold weather late last week.

Saturday’s average daily price of 24.96 cents a kilowatt hour set a new record, according to the Independent Electricity System Operator, which runs the market.

Monday’s average of 22.5 cents a kilowatt hour is the second-highest on record, according to the IESO, and Friday’s average price also hit the top five, at 22.2 cents a kwh.

The cold weather is behind the high prices, as Alexandra Campbell of the IESO.

“I would say high electricity demand, and high demand for gas generation,” she said when asked about the rising prices.

Natural gas-fired generators stepped into the breach as Ontario phased out its coal-fired plants. Gas is cleaner, but more expensive.

As demand rises, gas plants deliver an increasing proportion of the power, since nuclear plants and the province’s big hydro-electric stations tend to run at full power most of the time and can’t boost production.

Natural gas prices have also floated higher with the cold winter.

The market price isn’t the only component of what Ontarians pay for power. An additional fee, called the global adjustment, is tacked on to cover the cost of generators that have contracts that may pay above-market prices.

The final global adjustment for February has not yet been calculated, but Campbell said the all-in price for the month, including global adjustment, looks as if it will be close to a record.

The higher power prices won’t have an immediate impact for householders, most of whom pay regulated rates.

But persistent high prices do work their way into regulated rates eventually, when the rates are re-set in the spring and fall.