POWERSTREAM APPLIES FOR RATE REDUCTIONS IN BARRIE, SIMCOE COUNTY

If approved, residential customers could see an 8.3% decrease in delivery charges

BARRIE & SIMCOE COUNTY, ON – Electricity customers of PowerStream Barrie Hydro Distribution in Barrie and Simcoe County could see significant reductions on their bills next year if a 2010 rate application, recently submitted by the local utility to the Ontario Energy Board (OEB), is approved.

The rate application seeks an 8.3 % reduction in delivery charges for a typical residential customer who consumes 800 kilowatt hours (kWh) per month. This would be a $3.24 per month decrease on a typical residential customer’s total bill. A small business customer consuming 2,000 kWh per month and having a monthly demand of 50 kW or lower would experience an approximate 12.0% decrease in delivery charges. This is a $9.00 per month decrease on the total bill. All changes would be effective May 1, 2010 if approved by the OEB.

Delivery charges are one of four regular line items found on residential and business customers’ electricity bills and vary depending on the amount of electricity consumed. The reductions sought in the rate application are, to return to customers, amounts required by the OEB to be collected from retail settlement accounts. These amounts have accumulated as a result of differences between amounts billed at approved rates and actual costs.

“In addition to the reconciling of variances in retail settlement accounts, PowerStream continues to seek operational efficiencies that will help reduce the upward pressure on customer distribution rates and delivery charges,” explained Brian Bentz, President and CEO of PowerStream. “We expect that this will become even more evident for our Barrie and Simcoe County customers when we fulfill our merger commitment to harmonize distribution rates sometime in the next few years.”

Distribution charges account for approximately 25 percent of the total electricity bill customers receive from PowerStream Barrie Hydro Distribution. The remaining charges on the bill are collected by the local utility on behalf of other market participants such as generators, transmitters and market services.

About PowerStream Inc.

PowerStream Inc. is the second largest municipally-owned electricity distribution company in Ontario, providing service to more than 315,000 residential and business customers in Aurora, Barrie, Bradford, West Gwillimbury, Essa (Thornton), Markham, New Tecumseth (Alliston, Beeton, Tottenham), Penetanguishene, Richmond Hill and Vaughan. It is an incorporated entity, jointly owned by the municipalities of Barrie, Markham and Vaughan.