Electricity: Barrie's share of Alectra, and what a power bill costs
Council does not set electricity rates. What it does control is a shareholding: the City owns 8.37% of Alectra, the utility that delivers power to most of Barrie, and decides what to do with the $6–8 million dividend it pays each year. For 2026 that decision was made by the mayor, and the whole dividend now goes into the operating budget.
Who delivers Barrie's electricity?
Most of the city is in Alectra Utilities' PowerStream Rate Zone, which also covers Markham, Vaughan and several towns. Part of south Barrie is served by InnPower, which is owned by the Town of Innisfil. Hydro One owns the transmission stations that feed both; the regional planners' forecast for Barrie TS is on the data centres page.
Sources: Decision and Rate Order EB-2025-0055: Alectra Utilities, 2026 rates, Ontario Energy Board, dated December 16, 2025. Original document. Names the cities and towns in each Alectra rate zone: the PowerStream Rate Zone includes Barrie; about 1,083,000 customers in five zones. About InnPower, InnPower Corporation. Original document. InnPower distributes electricity in "the Town of Innisfil & South Barrie" and is owned by the Town of Innisfil. All retrieved October 7, 2026.
How much of Alectra does the City own?
The City owns all of Barrie Hydro Holdings Inc., which holds 8.37% of Alectra's common shares. Barrie Hydro merged into PowerStream on January 1, 2009, leaving the City with 20.5% of PowerStream; PowerStream, Enersource and Horizon formed Alectra on January 31, 2017 (8.78%), and the stake settled at 8.37% when Guelph Hydro joined. Alectra also repaid the City a $20 million promissory note at maturity on May 31, 2024. The mayor sits on Alectra's board, appointed by the holding company; the 2025 board pay was $56,250.
Source: Consolidated financial statements, 2018 to 2025 (audited), City of Barrie. Original document. Dividends received from Barrie Hydro Holdings Inc. (BHHI), from the cash-flow statement, and the note on BHHI: it held 8.78% of Alectra in 2017 and 2018 and 8.37% from 2019; the City holds 100% of BHHI; the $20 million Alectra promissory note matured May 31, 2024. One statement per year; the earlier years are at barrie.ca/media/1124 (2018), /media/1495 (2019), /media/989 (2020), /media/3715 (2021), /media/11129 (2022), /media/12460 (2023) and /media/14164 (2024). Retrieved October 7, 2026.
Where does the dividend go?
In December 2017, General Committee set up a Community Benefit Reserve (later renamed the Reinvestment Reserve) to be funded by "a minimum of 80 percent" of the dividend, for projects with "significant strategic and/or community benefit". In November 2021 a motion to split the dividend evenly between the tax-capital reserves and the Reinvestment Reserve from 2023 was lost.
In June 2025 the mayor's written decision on the 2026 budget, MD013-25, directed that "the Alectra dividends currently allocated to the Theatre Reserve, be reallocated to the annual operating Budget". The 2026 budget uses "the full amount of the dividend ($6.2 million)" to reduce what has to be raised through the tax levy, $1.3 million more than in 2025. Its own description of the Reinvestment Reserve: with no contributions now planned, the result is "a funding shortfall that is not sustainable".
That is the choice in front of the next council: a dividend spent each year keeps the levy lower now; a dividend saved pays for one-off projects later. See taxes and strong mayor powers.
Sources: Consolidated financial statements, 2018 to 2025 (audited), City of Barrie. Original document. Dividends received from Barrie Hydro Holdings Inc. (BHHI), from the cash-flow statement, and the note on BHHI: it held 8.78% of Alectra in 2017 and 2018 and 8.37% from 2019; the City holds 100% of BHHI; the $20 million Alectra promissory note matured May 31, 2024. One statement per year; the earlier years are at barrie.ca/media/1124 (2018), /media/1495 (2019), /media/989 (2020), /media/3715 (2021), /media/11129 (2022), /media/12460 (2023) and /media/14164 (2024). Retrieved October 7, 2026. General Committee Minutes, December 11, 2017, City of Barrie — General Committee, dated December 11, 2017. Original document. Establishes a Community Benefit Reserve funded by "a minimum of 80 percent of the dividends received from Barrie Hydro Holdings Inc." to a $10 million maximum (later the Reinvestment Reserve). Retrieved August 9, 2026. General Committee Minutes, November 20, 2021, City of Barrie — General Committee, dated November 20, 2021. Original document. Motion 21-G-271, to send 50% of the Barrie Hydro Holdings Inc. dividend to tax capital reserves and 50% to the Reinvestment Reserve from 2023, was lost. Retrieved August 9, 2026. Mayoral decisions and directions, the signed documents (MD001-23 to MD0014-26, MDIR001-24 to MDIR007-26), City of Barrie. Original document. Every one of the ninety register entries links to a one- or two-page signed document; all ninety are archived and their text extracted. Retrieved September 15, 2026. Operating Budget and Financial Overview — 2026 Business Plan, City of Barrie. Original document. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
What does a Barrie household pay for electricity?
Alectra (PowerStream Rate Zone) InnPower (part of south Barrie)
| Line | Amount | Set by |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity (448 off-peak, 126 mid-peak, 126 on-peak kWh) | $89.26 | The Ontario Energy Board (Regulated Price Plan) |
| Delivery | $52.10 | The Ontario Energy Board, on Alectra's application |
| Regulatory charges | $4.10 | The Ontario Energy Board and the IESO |
| HST | $18.91 | Federal and provincial government |
| Ontario Electricity Rebate | −$34.18 | The Province |
| Total | $130.19 |
InnPower customers pay more for the same month, $146.50, almost entirely because of higher delivery charges. Since November 1, 2025 the time-of-use prices are 9.8, 15.7 and 20.3 cents per kWh, and the provincial rebate is 23.5%, about $36 a month at 700 kWh. Alectra has asked the Board to merge its rate zones into one from 2027, with a $1.99 monthly increase for this zone; no decision had been issued as of October 7, 2026.
Sources: OEB bill calculator: 700 kWh residential bill, Alectra (PowerStream Rate Zone) and InnPower, Ontario Energy Board. Original document. Live output for a 700 kWh residential bill, October 7, 2026: Alectra PowerStream Rate Zone $130.19 a month (electricity $89.26, delivery $52.10, regulatory $4.10, HST $18.91, rebate −$34.18); InnPower $146.50. Earlier years are this site's calculation from the calculator's own data file, as archived by the Internet Archive; the method matches the live calculator to the cent for 2026. OEB sets electricity prices for November 1, 2025, Ontario Energy Board, dated October 17, 2025. Original document. Time-of-use prices 9.8 / 15.7 / 20.3 cents per kWh from November 1, 2025; the Ontario Electricity Rebate set at 23.5%, "about $36 each month" for a 700 kWh customer. Notice: Alectra Utilities application for 2027 rates and a single rate zone (EB-2025-0252), Alectra Utilities / Ontario Energy Board, dated October 31, 2025. Original document. Alectra asks for +$1.99 a month in 2027 for a PowerStream Rate Zone residential customer (750 kWh) and to merge its legacy rate zones into one Alectra-wide zone. No decision found as of October 7, 2026. All retrieved October 7, 2026.
Where does Ontario's power come from?
Nuclear Hydro Gas Wind Solar, biofuel and other
Source: Ontario electricity generation by fuel, 2015 to 2025 (hourly output, summed), Independent Electricity System Operator (summed by this site). Original document. Transmission-connected output only (rooftop and other distribution-connected solar excluded). Shares computed by this site from the IESO's hourly files. For comparison, the OEB's 2025 Supply Mix Data Update (June 8, 2026), which includes distribution-connected generation, gives nuclear 46.2%, waterpower 22.5%, gas/oil/other 19.4%, wind 9.3%, solar 2.1%. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
What does the City itself use and generate?
In 2022 the City's own operations used 100,270 MWh of energy and produced 38,500 tonnes of greenhouse gas, 61% of it from waste decomposing in the landfill rather than from power or heat. The wastewater plant runs two 250 kW co-generation engines on its own biogas, one at a time. Converting more than 10,000 streetlights to LED brought in over $900,000 in utility incentives and avoids about $700,000 a year in costs.
Sources: Corporate Net-Zero Strategy 2025-2050, City of Barrie. Original document. The City's own operations, 2022 baseline: 100,270 MWh of energy, 38,500 tonnes CO2e (61% from the landfill's decomposing waste); the wastewater plant's two 250 kW biogas co-generation engines, one run at a time. Serves as the five-year conservation plan required by O. Reg. 25/23. Conservation and Demand Management Plan 2020-2024, City of Barrie. Original document. LED streetlight retrofit: over 10,000 luminaires, over $900,000 in utility incentives, $700,000 a year in cost avoidance; Alectra rooftop solar leases on six City facilities. All retrieved October 7, 2026.
What can council actually decide?
- Council decides: what to do with the dividend; how the City votes its 8.37% of Alectra; its own buildings, streetlights, fleet and chargers; land use for new generation.
- Council does not decide: electricity prices or the rebate (the Ontario Energy Board and the Province), delivery rates (the Board, on Alectra's or InnPower's application), the supply mix (the IESO and the Province), or transmission (Hydro One).
What the candidates have said
Verbatim, attributed, dated. Every passage below is copied exactly from an archived copy of its source — a campaign website, a news article, or the candidate's own social media post — and links to it. Nothing is paraphrased by this site and no for-or-against label is applied: read the words, follow the link. Passages from news coverage say whether they are the candidate quoted, the reporter's reported speech, or the reporter's characterisation.
Compiled in a research batch dated September 11, 2026, reviewed by hand before publication on October 8, 2026. Passages are capped at 60 words and listed newest first. Campaign pages are undated, so only the retrieval date is shown for them, and they sort by it. A candidate with nothing located on an issue is listed as such, with the date their sources were checked; a race is shown only once every candidate in it has been checked. See methodology.
Mayor
Kay Sayer
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We paid for towers, fibre, hydro corridors. We should not pay a trillionaire to rent back our own eyes. Community-owned fibre, micro-grids on arenas, open budget dashboard.
Source: As quoted in barrietoday.com, Sayer's top concerns include daylight saving time, free speech, October 1, 2026 (paragraph 10, sentences 2–4). Read October 7, 2026. news
No published statement on this issue located for 3 candidates. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Alex Nuttall, Tanya Saari. No campaign website on the City's list: Russell Tighe. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
Ward 1
No published statement on this issue located for 6 candidates. Campaign website did not answer when checked (October 7, 2026): Stefano Agostino. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Shaughna Ainsworth, Brent Bowser, Hafiz Rahman, Pauline Stevenson. No campaign website on the City's list: Christian Cadera. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
Ward 2
No published statement on this issue located for 5 candidates. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Frank Casera, Shanicka Edwards, Craig Nixon, Ajmal Noushahi. No campaign website on the City's list: Tracy Strohm. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
Ward 3
No published statement on this issue located for 4 candidates. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Amy Courser, Ben Hughes, Ryan Rijo. No campaign website on the City's list: Bryan Jones. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
Ward 4
No published statement on this issue located for 5 candidates. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Iradat Ahmad, Lori Galeazza, Arif Khan. No campaign website on the City's list: Matthew Corbett, Patrick Harriott-Stewart. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
Ward 5
No published statement on this issue located for 2 candidates. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Duarte Da Silva, Robert Thomson. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
Ward 6
No published statement on this issue located for 3 candidates. No campaign website on the City's list: Nasar George Nader. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Nigussie Nigussie, Christel Pena. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
Ward 7
No published statement on this issue located for 2 candidates. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Gary Harvey. No campaign website on the City's list: Michael Lewis. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
Ward 8
No published statement on this issue located for 3 candidates. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Samina Alim, Jim Harris, Amanda Fellows. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
Ward 9
No published statement on this issue located for 4 candidates. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Norm Costello, Sergio Morales, Asmar Naveed, Dave Weingarten. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
Ward 10
No published statement on this issue located for 3 candidates. No campaign website on the City's list: William Cadeau. Campaign website read, nothing located on this issue (October 7, 2026): Bryn Hamilton, Georgy Kapustin. Indexed news coverage checked October 7, 2026: none quoting any of them on this issue. Social media posts not yet checked.
School board trustees
None of the 19 trustee candidates across 7 races has a located statement on this issue; trustees do not decide it. Their statements are on the education page, and each candidate's own page says what was checked.
Common questions
Does the City of Barrie own part of Alectra?
Yes. The City owns all of Barrie Hydro Holdings Inc., which holds 8.37% of Alectra's common shares. Barrie Hydro merged into PowerStream in 2009, and PowerStream into Alectra in 2017.
Where does Barrie's Alectra dividend go?
Since 2017 most of it went into a reserve for one-off projects. Under the mayor's budget decision MD013-25, the 2026 budget puts the whole dividend, $6.2 million, into the operating budget to hold down the tax levy, and the City's own budget book says the reserve's resulting shortfall is "not sustainable".
Does council set my electricity rates?
No. Electricity prices and the Ontario Electricity Rebate are set by the Ontario Energy Board and the Province; delivery charges are approved by the Board on the utility's application. Council's levers are its shareholding, its own energy use, and land-use decisions.