TIME-OF-Use Prices
A new way to manage your electricity use (and costs), reduce strain on the electricity system, and help the environment
Like all electricity distributors in Ontario, Hydro One has begun switching its residential and small business customers to Time-of-Use (TOU) electricity prices. This is just one part of the provincial government's plan to create a culture of energy conservation in the province.
When Will I Move to Time-of-Use Prices?
Hydro One is now in the final phase of switching our customers to Time-of-Use prices. Switching your account to TOU prices is dependent on many activities:
- installing the meter (we currently have over 1.2 million meters installed)
- installing and tuning the communication network that enables the meters to communicate (we have over 1 million meters currently on automated meter reading)
- connecting your meter with the provincial Meter Data Management Repository (the provincial data warehouse where all meter readings in the province are stored), and
- switching your account in our billing system.
Once all of these activities are successfully completed, we’ll notify you directly in the mail 30 days in advance of your switch to TOU pricing.
View Your Electricity Use
Once you’ve been notified in the mail that you’re moving to Time-of-Use prices, you’ll be able to view your electricity use online by registering at www.hydroone.com/MyAccount. Initially, you’ll be able to view a few weeks of your consumption information. As you accumulate your electricity usage information under Time-of-Use pricing, you’ll be able to access a growing history of your information.
IMPORTANT: Please be advised that your electricity usage information will be unavailable every Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. due to system maintenance being performed by the provincial Meter Data Management Repository. We apologize for any inconvenience and will update this message if there are any changes to the system maintenance schedule.
Time-of-Use Periods
Time-of-Use pricing means that the price you pay for electricity changes depending on the time of day. The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) has developed daily and seasonal Time-of-Use periods shown below. There are three Time-of-Use periods:
|
 Download TOU periods
chart as of May 1, 2011
|
|
Summer Pricing
(May 1 - October 31)
 |
Weekends/Holidays
(All Year)
 |
Winter Pricing
(November 1 - April 30)
 |
|
Effective May 1, 2011,
weekday off-peak rates start
at 7:00 PM | |
|
Effective November 1, 2011,
weekday off-peak rates start
at 7:00 PM | |
The weekends and designated holidays are off-peak all day. Time-of-Use pricing rewards you for using electricity during low-demand (off-peak) periods. By using Time-of-Use prices to manage your electricity costs, you can help reduce the need for additional power generation during peak periods and create real supply and environmental benefits.
Time-of-Use Prices
The OEB has announced new Time-of-Use prices for the 2012 summer season, effective May 1, 2012:
|
Regulated Price Plan Time-of-Use Prices |
| Off-peak Price: |
6.5 ¢/kWh |
| Mid-peak Price: |
10.0 ¢/kWh |
| On-peak Price: |
11.7 ¢/kWh |
We invite you to download our brochure, Introducing Time-of-Use Prices, to learn more about how to take advantage of TOU prices to manage your electricity use (and costs), reduce strain on the electricity system, and help the environment.
More Benefits
When you are switched to Time-of-Use prices you’ll be able to view your electricity use online and get bills based on actual electricity consumption under normal conditions, regardless of your billing frequency.
- Monthly billed customers will continue to be billed monthly
- Bi-monthly billed customers will move to more regular and convenient monthly billing
- Seasonal customers will continue to be billed quarterly but bills will be based on actual usage for the billing period.
To learn more about Time-of-Use prices and how to make them work for you, visit 10 Smart Meter Lane.