Solar: Our First Hydro Ottawa Account Summary

We received our first Hydro Ottawa Account Summary. Between Oct 26 and Dec 31, we produced 76.16 kwh off-peak and 52.08 kwh on-peak from our solar panels equating to earnings of $102.85. What we didn't know is that there is a $30 plus HST account set-up fee beyond what we already paid Hydro Ottawa to connect our system. More importantly, we will be paying a $10.50 plus HST delivery charge and $0.50 plus HST regulatory charge per account period (therefore $5.50 per month) for the next 20 years. This might not be a lot of money but it would have been helpful to know about this charge when doing our initial assessment. Apparently, it is a charge imposed by the Ontario Power Authority and not Hydro Ottawa but that is yet to be confirmed. The other thing we learned is that our solar account is separate from our regular account. I was given the impression that the money we earn would just be put against our hydro bill. Apparently, the system is not set up for that and we will be receiving separate cheques for the solar power generation per billing period. Our first cheque arrived for a total of $56.52. The next step for us is to figure out how this information is used in tax season....