Electric shocker: Power prices set to rise sharply

CBC – Thu, 31 Mar, 2011 1:09 PM EDT

The price of electricity, already triggering shock from consumers and businesses in many parts of Canada, will rise rapidly through the end of the decade, according to an analysis by CBC News. A study of provincial utilities' power-purchase agreements and financial statements indicates the average cost per kilowatt-hour countrywide will rise more than 50 per cent by 2020. And as provinces introduce staggered time-of-day pricing, seniors and other ratepayers on fixed incomes will suffer a double hit to their wallets, advocates say.
"Electricity prices have run up very substantially since 2003, but the increases that we’ve seen so far are just a warm-up for what we’re likely to see over the next four or five years," said Tom Adams, an energy analyst and former head of Energy Probe. Story here