Provincial tax and regulation changes that will kick in on New Year's Day will make hydro a little cheaper, however, the cost of natural gas will rise.
The government is going to remove the eight per cent provincial portion of the H-S-T from electricity bills, but the Liberals' cap-and-trade program to fight climate change will add about six dollars a month to natural gas bills in the new year.
The changes will also give first-time homebuyers a bit of a break.
The province is doubling the maximum refund of the land transfer tax to four-thousand dollars for people buying their first home, which means they won't pay the tax on the first 368-thousand dollars of a purchase price.