The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

5 | The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,S eptem ber 24,2020 theifp.ca ONTARIO ENERGY BOARD NOTICE TO CUSTOMERS OF HALTON HILLS HYDRO INC. Halton Hills Hydro Inc. has applied to raise its electricity distribution rates. Learn more. Have your say. Halton Hills Hydro Inc. has applied to the Ontario Energy Board to raise its electricity distribution rates effective May 1, 2021. If the application is approved as-filed, a typical residential customer and a typical general service customer of Halton Hills Hydro Inc. would see the following increase. Other customers, including businesses, may also be affected. Halton Hills Hydro Inc. has also applied to introduce a new standby/capacity reserve charge. It is important to review the application carefully to determine whether you may be affected by these changes. THE ONTARIO ENERGY BOARDWILL HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) will hold a public hearing to consider Halton Hills Hydro's application. During this hearing, which could be an oral or written hearing, we will question Halton Hills Hydro on its case for a rate increase. We will also hear questions and arguments from individuals that have registered to participate (called intervenors) in the OEB's hearing. At the end of this hearing, the OEB will decide what, if any, rate increase will be allowed. Distributors such as Halton Hills Hydro typically apply for a full review of their rates every five years. Any rate changes for the years in between are made by applying an OEB-approved formula which is tied to inflation and other factors intended to promote efficiency. You may not get notice of future rate changes made by applying the formula. The OEB is an independent and impartial public agency. We make decisions that serve the public interest. Our goal is to promote a financially viable and efficient energy sector that provides you with reliable energy services at a reasonable cost. BE INFORMED AND HAVE YOUR SAY You have the right to information regarding this application and to be involved in the process. • You can review Halton Hills Hydro's application on the OEB's website now • You can file a letter with your comments, which will be considered during the hearing • You can become an intervenor. As an intervenor, you can ask questions about Halton Hills Hydro's application and make arguments on whether the OEB should approve Halton Hills Hydro's request. Apply byOctober 5, 2020 or the hearing will go ahead without you and you will not receive any further notice of the proceeding • At the end of the process, you can review the OEB's decision and its reasons on our website. LEARNMORE These proposed charges relate to Halton Hills Hydro's distribution services. They make up part of the Delivery line - one of the line items on your bill. Our file number for this case is EB-2020-0026. To learn more about this hearing, find instructions on how to file a letter with your comments or become an intervenor, or to access any document related to this case, please select the file number EB-2020-0026 from the list on the OEB website:www.oeb.ca/notice. You can also phone our Consumer Relations Centre at 1-877-632-2727 with any questions. ORAL VS. WRITTEN HEARINGS There are two types of OEB hearings - oral and written. Halton Hills Hydro has applied for a written hearing. The OEB is considering this request. If you think an oral hearing is needed, you can write to the OEB to explain why byOctober 5, 2020. PRIVACY If you write a letter of comment, your name and the content of your letter will be put on the public record and the OEB website. However, your personal telephone number, home address and email address will be removed. If you are a business, all your information will remain public. If you apply to become an intervenor, all information will be public. This rate hearing will be held under section 78 of the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998, S.O. 1998, c.15, Schedule B. Ontario Energy Board Commission de l'énergie de l'Ontario Residential (750 kWh) $6.83 per month General Service less than 50 kW (2,000 kWh) $29.74 per month Council voted in favour of offering a reduc- tion "in order to make the restart season financially viable." Even with fewer members in the pool at a time, more safety precautions will be en- forced. "When they come into the pool area they have to be masked and use hand sani- tizer," Thompson said. "They can take their masks off in the pool, but any time they're out of the pool, the masks go back on. That's just the age we're in." With a four-hour time slot on Sunday and Wednesday, the club will also need to make time for mandatory cleaning time between sessions. "There's still a rental fee for those 15 minutes that we're not really in the pool," Thompson said. Currently, the season is delayed by two weeks to get protocols in place, as well as, Thompson said, to allow members to get used to the new protocols at schools. "We didn't know what school was going to look like and we didn't want to stress the kids out," she said. The reduction, Thompson said, would alleviate some of the financial pressure on the club during this season. "The Town of Halton Hills has our backs," she said. "They want to see us suc- ceed." Jessica Clevely, a member of the club for the past four years, said she was eager to get back in the pool. "It's been an adjustment," she said. Last year, the season ended early due to the pandemic, but the social aspect of the club carried on through Zoom calls. The rental fee reduction will affect sev- eral Halton Hills groups including the Syn- chronized Swimming Club, Special Olym- pics, Blue Fins, and the Acton Ducks. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: After learning about how several user groups would be impacted by new safety protocols, we wanted to find out the impact on user groups who rely on limited facilities like swimming pools. We discovered that with- out financial relief, aquatic user groups would face difficulty in returning for the coming season. COUNCIL Continued from page 1 RATE REDUCTION MUCH WELCOMED SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFP.CA