UPDATED - 2:00 PM EST APRIL 02
Going province by province, starting from the west cost, and latest updates bolded.
- British Columbia:
- BC Hydro offering bill payment grants and deferring bills
- FortisBC has waived late payment fees and has “pledged to ensure that no customer is disconnected from the energy they need for financial reasons” (Updated March 19)
- BC Hydro will offer three months of bill credit for residential customers (application form opens April 06) and three month holiday for small businesses (application form opens April 13)(Updated April 02)
- Alberta:
- ENMAX offering customers payment flexibility via date extensions, payment plans and suspending collections and disconnections
- EPCOR defers payment by 90 days for customers experiencing difficulties paying bills, no additional late fees and suspends disconnections. (Updated March 19)
- City of Calgary is deferring utility payments for April, May June. The city will still send out water, wastewater, sewer, waste, recycling and composting bills in April, May and June — but people can choose to pay just part of it or none at all. The amount they don’t pay will be spread across their utility bills for the last six months of the year, without penalty or accrual of interest. (Updated April 02)
- Province of Alberta order allows residential, farm and small commercial customers to defer electricity and natural gas bill payments for the next 90 days, regardless of the service provider. Government and the Alberta Utilities Commission will work with utility companies to develop approaches for repayments that will help consumers pay back their deferred utilities within a reasonable time period. (Updated April 02)
- Saskatchewan:
- SaskPower won’t be disconnecting residential customers for non-payment; have stopped all active collections and are offering flexible payment arrangements.(Updated March 19)
- Saskatoon Light and Power is suspending disconnections and late payment charges till September 30, offering flexible payment plans (Updated March 19)
- Saskatchewan government offers a crown utility interest deferral program waving interest on late bill payments for up to six months available to all crown utility customers. (Updated April 02)
- Manitoba:
- Manitoba Hydro has suspended all service disconnections until further notice; offers flexible payment plans + referrals to community supports. (Updated March 19)
- Ontario:
- All Ontario electric and gas utilities have suspended disconnections following discussions with provincial Ministry
- Hydro One has set up a pandemic relief fund – offering financial assistance and payment flexibility
- Alectra Utilities will “work with customers to provide flexible payment terms and will not disconnect customers during this time of uncertainty.“
- Toronto Hydro “has programs in place to assist those experiencing financial hardship; will be extending the current suspension of electricity disconnections“
- Hydro Ottawa has extended winter disconnection moratorium till end of July; suspended collections; offers flexible payment plans for outstanding arrears
- Sudbury Hydro will not be disconnecting residential or small businesses, will work with customers unable to pay bills. (Updated March 19)
- Province of Ontario holds electricity prices to the off-peak rate of 10.1 cents-per-kilowatt-hour. This reduced price will be available 24 hours per day, seven days a week to all time-of-use customers. Depending on billing cycles, some customers will see these changes on their next electricity bill. TOU customers whose billing cycle ended before their local distribution company implemented this change will receive the reduced rate as a credit on a future bill. (Updated April 02)
- Quebec:
- Quebec Hydro has indefinitely extended its (pre-existing) moratorium on winter disconnections.
- Hydro-Québec will not charge any penalties for unpaid bills until further notice. Hydro customers who think they will have difficulty paying their bill can still contact the utility to negotiate a deferral of payment. (Updated April 02)
- Newfoundland and Labrador: (NA)
- New Brunswick:
- NB Power is indefinitely spending disconnections; offering flexible payment plans; has asked provincial regulator to delay decision on rate increase and postponed planned outages.(Updated March 19) and deferring electricity bill payments for residential, seasonal and small business customers for up to 90 days , extending existing payment arrangements for impacted customers, and waiving interest for past due balances and late payment charges issued after March 19, 2020 for impacted customers. (Updated April 02)
- Saint John Power has indefinitely suspended disconnections, waived interest fees for past arrears and offering customized payment plans (Updated March 19)
- Prince Edward Island
- The Charlottetown water and sewer utility is offering options for flexible payments to people suffering financial difficulties. (Updated April 02)
- Nova Scotia:
- NS Power is “providing options to families struggling to pay bills“. Customers are urged to call customer care center to discuss their options. (Updated March 19). NS Power is also expanding its low-income assistance program, extending application deadlines indefinitely and waiving application restrictions. (Updated April 02)
- Halifax Water “Disconnections for non-payment of service will be suspended during the next 30 days, and customers that are currently disconnected will be reconnected based on agreement to a repayment arrangement“
- Yukon:
- ATCO Yukon (NA) (Updated April 02)
- Yukon Energy (NA)(Updated April 02)
- Nunavut:
- Qulliq Energy Corp (NA)(Updated April 02)