Frequently Asked Questions

Call Algoma Power's Emergency Telephone Number: 1-844-901-9473. 

Account holders (person(s) whose name is on the account) must provide authorization before we can assist anyone who is not listed on an account.

To add a secondary account holder, please call Customer Service

Yes, you may sign up for eBillling with Algoma Power.

Register for eBilling

Algoma Power Inc. (API) often communicates with its customers by automated messages. We advise of community meetings, important initiatives, planned outages, and past due balances.

Yes, with each messge you can opt out of getting future messages. If you opt-out of any telephone communication from API, you will opt-out of all communications from API. Please contact us if you have opted out in error.

Below are some explanations of what could lead to high bills. As well there is information on the easiest ways to try and prevent high bills from happening again.

Listing of possible causes of high energy consumption in the home

Inefficient Appliances

• Old appliances in your home may by inefficient and may increase energy consumption
• Check NEW appliances to ensure they are set to the most energy efficient settings

Time-of-Use Billing

• Review your bill to ensure you are using the bulk of your electricity during Off Peak times
• Where possible, shift your home patterns to make best use of Off Peak times. For example:
  • Do laundry on weekends or after 7pm on weekdays
  • Run large appliances like dishwashers in the evening rather than during the weekday
  • Find tips on taking advantage of Time Of Use pricing to help reduce your bill

The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) feeds the smart meter content on the customer portal and customers view what the IESO has recorded. In such cases the IESO will take the Kilowatt Hour (KWH) reading when the power went off and the KWH reading when the power came on.  It will then’ smooth’ or average the consumption over the period of the outage. Essentially you are being charged for exactly what you consumed but the buckets may not always align 100 % due to the smoothing process.

For example, your Smart Meter sends the IESO a reading at 9:00 pm. You power goes out at 9:55 pm and comes back on at 05:30 am.  On the next hour (06:00 am) your Smart Meter will send a new read to the IESO. Due to the power failure there was no read captured at 10:00 pm and no read captured at 05:00am.  Although consumption did occur between 9:00 pm and 9:55 pm and between 05:30 am and 06:00 am. This is the consumption that will get ‘smoothed’ over the number of hours that you were without power.

A portion of the Delivery Charge is calculated at a fixed amount. Another portion increases or decreases depending on the amount of electricity you use, giving you another measure of control over your electricity costs.

Transmission Charge - A variable cost that is linked to how much electricity you use, which pays for the operation and maintenance of the high-voltage transmission system that carries electricity from generating stations to your local distributor.

Distribution Charge - A variable cost that is linked to how much electricity you use, which covers the cost of building and maintaining the distribution lines, poles, and transformer stations in your local area that deliver electricity to your home or business.

Service Charge - A fixed charge that pays for the costs associated with billing, customer service, account maintenance, and general distribution utility operations.

EPP is a convenient, interest free way to budget electric bills on a monthly basis as long as your consumption stays the same year after year. If you are not on EPP, you are billed for the energy you use each month. The EPP averages your annual consumption/charges into 12 equal payments (based on the consumption history of the service) – In the 12th month, your account will be reconciled or settled up. 

Algoma Power uses your historical energy usage for the last twelve months to determine the average monthly EPP amount. Each month, you will receive a bill with your actual consumption charges – but, you will only pay the Equal Payment amount (less the 8% Provincial Rebate).  On the 12th bill, we will settle the account – you might receive a credit if you've overpaid during the year OR be charged what you consumed over the estimated amount.  

Yes, if you are a Residential customer, not on a contract with an energy retailer, and your account has a zero balance.  

Yes, the EPP plan can be reviewed and adjusted up to 4 times a year. This allows API to align with your actual electricity usage based on your meter readings. You can readily know how much you have not been billed for or how much you have overpaid into the plan by monitoring the running total located on the bottom of your bill. Feel free to contact us if you notice the amount owing is growing. The sooner we align the monthly amount, the less the adjustment will be at reconciliation. When API reviews and an adjustment is required, you will receive a letter noting the change.

Yes, you can cancel your Equal Payment Plan at any time.   Contact our Customer Service Department by phone at 705-256-3850 or 1-877-457-7378 Monday to Friday to request to cancel. 

Energy Retailers are private companies that offer fixed long term contracts for the commodity portion of the electricity bill. Remember, when asking for a quote, make sure that the Energy Retailer is quoting on the electricity commodity portion of the bill. You will still be billed by Algoma Power Inc. for delivery, regulatory and government-related charges. For more information on Energy Retailers, please visit the Ontario Energy Board website.

If you sign a contract with an Energy Retailer, Algoma Power Inc. remains your distributor and will deliver electricity to your service.  Your invoice will show the Energy Retailer’s charge for electricity.

FYI - If you have signed with an Energy Retailer, you have a "cooling-off period" and may cancel by notifying the Retailer, in writing, within 10 business days. Please remember that a contract is legally binding and you do not want to sign a contract with more than one retailer.

If you have questions or concerns about your contract you should contact your retailer. The contracts are legally binding agreements and there may be penalties associated with cancelling prior to the end-date as specified in the contract(s).  Once you have signed a contract with an Energy Retailer you should receive a confirmation letter from them. These letters contain confirmation of important information. This information will include: the contract price and length of contract,  retailer obligations - under the Electricity Retailer Code of Conduct and the Consumer Protection Act (Ontario), and retailer phone numbers for customer inquiries and complaints.

Algoma Power Inc. will issue the bill on behalf of the retailer and it will display as a line item on your bill.   

Algoma Power Inc. is responsible for maintaining your meter.  Please ensure it is accessible to our crews at all times. Failure to allow access may result in disconnection of service.

Algoma Power Inc. is responsible for maintaining the power lines and ensuring that electricity is delivered to your property line in the majority of cases. Small repairs can be completed on private property by Algoma Power’s crews. Larger repairs will require the customer hire an electrical contractor on private property to repair the damage. 

According to the Electricity Act, 1998, Section 47 it reads:  Every person who, without the consent of a transmitter or distributor, nails or otherwise attaches or causes anything to be nailed or otherwise attached to or upon any wooden transmission or distribution pole of the transmitter or distributor is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $200. 1998, c.15, Schedule A, S 47.

Please call your local Municipal office to report a street light that is not operating properly or burnt out.

If a customer intends to connect a service line to API facilities by crossing over or under land owned by a third party, API strongly recommends that the customer should preserve the right to cross the third party land by obtaining a registered easement in perpetuity from the third party owner. Failure to obtain the registered easement may result in the third party owner or a successor interring with the customer's ability to maintain, repair or replace the service line. It may also result in the third party or a successor taking legal action to require the customer to remove the service line from the third party which would require disconnection of the customer's service and may necessitate a new service line installation at another location at the customer's expense.  

IMPORTANT NOTICE:  If there are tree concerns at a property, it is prudent to manage the removal of the vegetation at a planned time and to do so in a controlled way. Disconnection of the service wire is recommended for your safety. Contact our office to ascertain ownership of lines and if required, to arrange for a disconnection. Costly repairs can result for a customer if a danger tree is not handled in a safe, timely manner.