Hydro One has applied to the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) to increase distribution rates from 2018 until 2022.
Rates would go up an average of $2.35 a month per year for each of the next five years, which is an increase of about 3%.
Hydro One spokesman Ferio Pugliese says the money will go toward maintaining and upgrading the distribution system.
"We essentially put an application in for capital, and asked for a certain rate of return on that capital when it's employed," says Pugliese. "The intent is that it allows us to generate a return that can be then reinvested back into the system, return back in the form of value to customers so that you have continuity of service."
The OEB is expected to make a ruling by the end of the year.
Pugliese says Hydro One bills will decrease by an average of 31% under the Ontario government's Fair Hydro Plan which takes effect this fall.
After four or five years of inflationary increases, critics say rates will increase dramatically over several years to cover the cost of the plan.
