What Hydro Ottawa actually does (and why your bill says "Hydro Ottawa" at the top)
Ontario's electricity market is structured very differently from Alberta's, and Hydro Ottawa is a clear example of how it works in a large city. Hydro Ottawa wears two hats at once: it is the distributor that owns the poles, overhead lines, underground vaults, transformers, substations and smart meters across the City of Ottawa and the Village of Casselman, AND it is your default supplier under Ontario's Standard Supply Service (SSS) rules. The bill that arrives at your home covers both jobs.
The per-kWh rate Hydro Ottawa charges most residential and small-business customers is set by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) twice a year in its Regulated Price Plan (RPP), with three structures to choose from: Time-of-Use, Tiered or Ultra-Low Overnight. Long-term fixed-rate retailer contracts exist, but they are a niche market in Ontario, and signing one does not change the delivery, regulatory or Global Adjustment lines on your bill, only the commodity portion. The wires that bring the electricity to your Ottawa address belong to Hydro Ottawa regardless.
- Owns the wires, vaults, transformers, smart meters
- Restores power after outages (24/7 dispatch)
- Sends the monthly bill at the OEB's RPP rate
- Fixed by address: every Ottawa property is served by Hydro Ottawa
- Replaces the commodity portion of the bill only
- Door-to-door sales banned (ECPA 2010)
- Delivery + Global Adjustment + regulatory unchanged
- Hydro Ottawa still owns the wires and meter
Hydro Ottawa was created in November 2000 from the merger of five smaller LDCs (Gloucester, Goulbourn, Kanata, Nepean and the original Ottawa Hydro), with the Village of Casselman joining in May 2002. The legacy of that consolidation is visible in the network: the old downtown core, the post-1950 suburbs and the rural fringe were built to different standards, which is part of why Hydro Ottawa's reliability metrics vary noticeably between the dense urban core and the western and southern edges of the city.
Where Hydro Ottawa delivers power
In plain words: if you live or run a business inside the City of Ottawa (anywhere from Kanata in the west to Orléans in the east, from Barrhaven and Manotick in the south to the Ottawa River) or inside the Village of Casselman (about 60 km east of downtown), Hydro Ottawa is your distributor. There is no overlap and no choice. Rural addresses just outside the City of Ottawa boundary are usually served by Hydro One Networks instead.
- •Downtown Ottawa, ByWard Market, Centretown, Glebe and the Parliamentary precinct
- •Kanata, Nepean, Gloucester, Orléans, Barrhaven, Stittsville (legacy LDC areas merged in 2000)
- •Village of Casselman (annexed in May 2002)
- •Every residential, commercial and industrial address inside the City of Ottawa boundary
- •Toronto and the GTA core → Toronto Hydro
- •Hawkesbury, Prescott-Russell east of Casselman → Hydro Hawkesbury, Hydro 2000, Coopérative Hydro Embrun
- •Pembroke, Renfrew and the upper Ottawa Valley → Ottawa River Power or Renfrew Hydro
- •Rural Ontario just outside the city limits → Hydro One Networks
Not sure which one applies to your address? Check your most recent electricity bill: the distributor's name and OEB licence number are printed at the top of the first page.
How Hydro Ottawa's charges appear on your bill
An Ontario electricity bill is broken into a handful of distinct line items, all of which appear on the same Hydro Ottawa invoice. Unlike Alberta, where the commodity is billed separately by your retailer, in Ontario almost every household sees a single integrated bill where Hydro Ottawa acts as both the wires company and the OEB-default supplier.
The per-kWh rate set by the OEB twice a year in the Regulated Price Plan. You pick one of three structures: Time-of-Use (peak/mid/off-peak), Tiered (low- and high-block) or Ultra-Low Overnight (for EV owners).
Funds the difference between the market price and the long-term contracts the IESO signed for nuclear, hydro, wind, solar and conservation. RPP customers see this rolled into the commodity rate; bigger customers see it as its own line.
The cost of moving electricity from the IESO-controlled grid through Hydro Ottawa's wires to your meter. Includes a fixed monthly service charge plus a per-kWh distribution rate set by the OEB.
Small line covering OEB programs, the Wholesale Market Service Rate and a few other system-wide charges. Set by the OEB and applied uniformly across Ontario LDCs.
A provincial credit that reduces the pre-tax subtotal by a percentage set by the government (currently around 13 %). Applied automatically to eligible residential, farm and small-business accounts.
The 13 % federal-provincial sales tax applied to the post-rebate subtotal. Cannot be avoided; appears at the bottom of the bill.
Hydro Ottawa's delivery rate is set by the OEB under its Custom Incentive Rate-setting framework, currently the 2021-2025 CIR Application with a 2026-2030 CIR Application (EB-2024-0115) now before the OEB. Rates are filed publicly on the OEB's eFiling portal and can be examined line by line by any customer or consumer advocate. The framework caps year-over-year increases against inflation and productivity targets, with limited "capital tracker" top-ups for specific approved projects such as substation refurbishment and grid-modernisation work.
A practical implication: if a licensed retailer offers a low fixed per-kWh rate, you'll still pay the same Hydro Ottawa delivery and regulatory charges, the same Global Adjustment, the same HST. Switching retailers changes the commodity portion of your bill; switching never changes Hydro Ottawa's portion.
Peak (4-7pm), mid-peak, off-peak. Best for households that can shift heavy use to evenings and weekends.
A low block for the first ~600 kWh per month (residential), a higher block above. Best for steady, modest users.
Very cheap from 11pm to 7am, much more expensive 4-9pm. Best for EV owners or anyone who can charge overnight.
Contact details: outage line vs general customer service
Hydro Ottawa splits its contact channels between a dedicated 24/7 outage and emergency line (with a text-to-report option) and a separate business-hours number for billing, moves, account changes and new connections. The MyAccount portal handles most non-urgent requests online.
Outages, downed wires, emergencies. Text "OUT" to PWROUT (797688) as an alternative. For a downed live wire, call 911 first.
Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (closed statutory holidays)
2711 Hunt Club Road
PO Box 8700, Ottawa, ON K1G 3S4
Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. via MyAccount
iOS & Android, with push notifications + outage map
For non-urgent questions you can also use Hydro Ottawa's online tools: the live outage map, the outage centre, and the MyAccount portal at https://hydroottawa.com. Unresolved complaints can be escalated to Hydro Ottawa's Customer Liaison Office, which exists specifically to handle issues that the front line could not close out.
Report a power outage
If your power is out, the fastest path is to call 613-738-0188, text "OUT" to PWROUT (797688), or report it on the outage centre. Live restoration estimates are published on the live outage map. The Hydro Ottawa mobile app also pushes restoration notifications directly to your phone.
Call 613-738-0188, text OUT to PWROUT, use the outage centre, or use the mobile app. Have your address and account number ready.
The system pinpoints which feeder, vault or substation is affected and assigns a crew, pole patrol or underground team.
Estimated restoration time appears on the live outage map. Single faults: usually minutes to under an hour in the urban core. Ice-storm-wide events can take days.
Power is verified at the smart meter. Reset clocks, check freezer contents, and report any damage right away via Hydro Ottawa's claims form.
Reliability and the OEB scorecard
Hydro Ottawa reports its reliability performance to the OEB every year in its public scorecard. The headline metrics are SAIDI (average hours a customer was off per year) and SAIFI (average number of interruptions per customer per year), each measured against the OEB's distributor-specific performance standard. You can pull the latest year from the OEB scorecard registry to compare Hydro Ottawa's results against the city's previous performance and against other large Ontario LDCs.
Planned outages for maintenance are normally posted at least 48 hours in advance, by mail or notice to affected addresses and on the outage centre. If you depend on medical equipment, register with Hydro Ottawa's medical-needs program so you receive priority notification.
New connection or service upgrade
For a new build, a service upgrade (e.g. moving from 100 A to 200 A for an EV charger or heat pump), a temporary construction service, or any work that requires changes to the physical wires or meter, you deal with Hydro Ottawa. Start at https://hydroottawa.com or call 613-738-6400. The OEB sets a 5-business-day standard for routine residential connections once all customer-side conditions are met.
The civic address and the legal description of the lot inside Ottawa or Casselman.
A sketch showing where you want the meter, service entrance, and run-back to the pole or underground vault.
The amperage (100 A, 200 A, 400 A…) and voltage you need, signed off by your Master Electrician.
An Electrical Safety Authority permit and ESA sign-off once the in-house wiring is done. Hydro Ottawa cannot energise until ESA clears it.
For routine residential connections once all conditions are met. Complex builds, subdivision servicing or large service upgrades requiring civil work can run several months.
Fixed component + per-metre charge above the contribution threshold defined in Hydro Ottawa's Conditions of Service.
Once the wires are in, your account opens automatically under Standard Supply Service at the OEB's Regulated Price Plan rate. You can switch your RPP structure (Time-of-Use, Tiered or Ultra-Low Overnight) at any time by contacting Hydro Ottawa. If you sign with a licensed retailer later, the retailer registers their contract with Hydro Ottawa and the commodity rate is replaced on your next bill cycle.
Moving home, transferring or closing a service
In Ottawa, the move-in / move-out conversation starts with Hydro Ottawa directly, not with a separate retailer. Because Hydro Ottawa is the default supplier, it closes the old billing account, sets up the new one, and triggers the final meter read. If you have a licensed retailer contract you also notify the retailer separately so they can transfer or cancel their commodity supply. Most move requests need at least 1 to 2 business days of notice; 5 is safer for end-of-month moves.
Call 613-738-6400 (or use MyAccount online). Give them the move date and your new address.
1 to 2 business days minimum; allow 5 for month-end moves. Same-day service is rare.
On the move-out date, Hydro Ottawa records the final reading remotely from the smart meter; no in-person visit required.
Hydro Ottawa issues a closing bill for the period up to the move-out date. The new address bill starts under a fresh account.
Administrative transfer only. No physical work, no service interruption. Your RPP structure (TOU, Tiered, ULO) carries over by default; ask Hydro Ottawa if you want to change it at the new address.
Opening a fresh account is required at the new LDC. Common destinations from Ottawa include Hydro Hawkesbury (east), Coopérative Hydro Embrun (Russell Township), Toronto Hydro (Toronto), or Hydro One Networks (rural Ontario).
Meters, meter reading and accuracy
Hydro Ottawa owns the meter at your address. Since the province-wide smart-meter rollout was completed in 2010-2011, virtually every Ottawa residential and small-business address is equipped with a smart meter that supports the OEB's Time-of-Use pricing structure. The meter is the basis for both the consumption side of your bill and the choice between TOU, Tiered or Ultra-Low Overnight RPP structures.
Every Ottawa residential address. Consumption reports back to Hydro Ottawa on its own; no action from you, no estimated bills.
Hydro Ottawa pulls the meter and tests it on a calibrated bench against Measurement Canada's tolerance.
Download your hour-by-hour consumption via MyAccount or pipe it directly into an authorised third-party energy app.
If the meter reads outside Measurement Canada's tolerance (typically ±2 %), the test is free and you get a billing adjustment back to the date the fault is presumed to have started. If the meter passes, the test fee is charged to you at the OEB-approved tariff rate.
What do you need to do with Hydro Ottawa?
Pick an action. The tool shows the right phone, the right link, and what to expect. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Note: under AUC Rule 002, Alberta distributors are not required to pay automatic compensation for outages. Damage claims are evaluated case-by-case on negligence.
Compensation and damage claims: the honest version
Ontario has no automatic, statutory compensation scheme for individual customers affected by a power outage. Unlike the UK's Ofgem Guaranteed Standards, the OEB's role is to require Hydro Ottawa to report its reliability performance (SAIDI, SAIFI) every year in its public scorecard. Penalties for under-performance flow from the regulator to the distributor; they do not arrive in your mailbox as a credit.
If your fridge or freezer contents spoiled, an appliance was damaged by a voltage surge, or you incurred a clear loss during an outage, you can file a damage claim with Hydro Ottawa. The claim is evaluated on negligence.
- +Equipment failure (transformer, vault, network switch)
- +Crew error during work on the network
- +Switching incident causing voltage spike
- +Unplanned, distributor-caused service interruption
- ×Severe weather (lightning, wind, ice storms)
- ×Wildlife contact (squirrels, raccoons on lines)
- ×Third-party contact (vehicle hits pole, dig-in)
- ×Planned outages notified in advance
Most Ottawa home insurance policies cover food spoilage and surge damage at a low excess. If your loss is meaningful, the insurance route is usually faster than a denied utility claim. Keep dated receipts and photos either way. They're the only basis on which any claim can be evaluated.
Regulator and complaint escalation
If you can't resolve something directly with Hydro Ottawa, there's a clear escalation ladder in Ontario. The Ontario Energy Board sits at the top as both the economic regulator and the body that handles consumer complaints; the Electrical Safety Authority covers physical-safety issues.
Sets the Regulated Price Plan, approves Hydro Ottawa's distribution tariff, oversees the Custom IR rate framework and reviews service-quality reporting (scorecards). Also runs the OEB Consumer Protection Office for individual disputes.
Administers Ontario Regulation 22/04, audits Hydro Ottawa's distribution-asset safety practices and tracks the Serious Electrical Incident Index. Issues electrical permits for in-house wiring.
Most issues resolve here. Phone 613-738-6400 (Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.), use live chat or the MyAccount portal.
Hydro Ottawa runs a dedicated Customer Liaison Office for unresolved complaints. Ask the front line to escalate, or request the contact in writing.
The OEB investigates complaints involving Ontario LDCs, retailers and unit sub-meter providers. The service is free.
Last resort. For tariff or service-quality issues you can intervene as a registered intervenor in a rate proceeding. For damage claims that are denied, civil court is the final route.