Toronto Electricity Retailers and Natural Gas Providers
Residents of the city of Toronto, as well as the businesses located in the city, have several energy retailers to choose from, including the following:
These Toronto retailers offer a variety of plans, including fixed rate, variable, and fixed monthly plans. To find out what these providers are currently charging for their services, please try our energy rate comparison form above.
Toronto Energy and Natural Gas History
Toronto is by far the most populous city in Canada, with a metropolitan population of 5.5 million residents as of 2011. The city, originally founded in 1793 as the city of York, has played a large role in the development of Ontario, and Canada as a whole. Given the city’s long history, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that two of the largest utility companies in Ontario, Ontario Hydro (now Hydro One) and Consumers Gas (now Enbridge Gas) were both founded in Toronto.
Ontario Hydro was created in 1906 by the provincial government for the purpose of tackling the monumental task of building a transmission network to distribute electricity generated from facilities located at Niagara Falls to residents throughout the province. Much of the grid throughout Ontario would not exist without the efforts of Hydro One during the early and middle 20th century, and Hydro One continues to carry much of the responsibility of maintaining the province’s transmission lines, distributing electricity to 1.3 million residents.
While Hydro One began life as a governmental entity, the inception of Enbridge Gas’s precursor, Consumers Gas, was entirely profit-driven. In 1841, Toronto Gas Light and Water Company built a gas works in Toronto, responsible for distributing gas to a dozen street lamps, and later, to nearby manufacturing companies. Eventually, the company’s prices were judged to be too high, and disgruntled consumers invested in a new gas company, The Consumers’ Gas Company of Toronto.
In 1847, the company was granted a charter by Toronto to provide gas lighting for the city’s streets. It bought up the interests of its competitor, went to work, and within three years had dropped the city’s natural gas rates by half. The relationship between the city of Toronto and what is now Enbridge Gas has never ceased in the century and a half since then. The small company that had a total of 200 customers in Toronto in 1848 now serves more than 2 million Ontario residents, and is Canada’s largest natural gas utility company.
What About Water?
In a busy place like Toronto, ensuring that everyone, from businesses to homes, can access clean and safe water is a priority. The water there is drawn from Lake Ontario to be treated in various processes before being consumed by its more than 3 million residents. The largest city in Canada also operates four major drinking water treatment plants, as the R.C Harris plant, the F.J. Horgan, Island, and the R.L. Clark.
Regarding the infrastructure, it is important to highlight that the age of Toronto can be traced back to its founding in 1793; therefore, more than 200 years old. Because of that, some watermains are old, having over a hundred years, which also brings high and constant maintenance. However, it doesn’t affect the water quality, as the local tap water is rigorously tested to check the presence of bacteria, chemical contaminants, clarity, odour, and taste to be compared to standards set by the Province of Ontario and federal guidelines.
On average, residents can expect to pay between $80 and $100 per month for water, depending on the use and home size. For all property owners, it is mandatory to have a water meter installed on any pipe that delivers water into the building. In 2015, the City of Toronto completed a six-year capital project to install automated water meter technology in every home and business to improve the system and to ensure the person pays an amount equivalent to what was consumed.
How to set up a water supply
As we said before, the City of Toronto is responsible for providing the water locally. As a business or resident, if the place is completely new, your part is to install new water and sewer connections with a licensed plumber and a permit from the city. The first step is submitting a municipal services application to Toronto Water to get their approval and have the installation coordinated according to local standards.
But if your case is easier and you just moved to an existing house, the process of transferring the water and sewer account is managed by the City of Toronto Revenue Services. For tenants, usually the water bills are included in rent and remain in the landlord’s name. However, if the tenant pays, is needed to contact the City of Toronto to ask for the account name update starting from the moving date.
City of Toronto Information
- Customer Care Phone: 416-392-2489
- Email: 311@toronto.ca
- Website
