Ontario Announces Changes To Reduce Electricity Infrastructure Costs For New Housing Developments

On October 21, 2024, the Ontario government announced new measures aimed at reducing electricity system expansion costs for new residential developments. A key aspect of the announcement is that the "revenue horizon" for the recovery of expansion costs will be expanded from 25 years to 40 years. This means that developers (and therefore home purchasers) will pay less in up-front expansion charges, because it will be assumed that the costs will be recovered from connected customers and other ratepayers over the next 40 years. This change, which follows recent recommendations from the Ontario Energy Board (OEB), will be implemented through planned amendments to OEB rules. Additionally, the government says it will amend the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 (OEB Act) to enable additional regulation-making powers to protect existing ratepayers from the impacts of changes to the OEB rules.