Here are a few things to consider. Make sure you have some of your recent electricity bills handy as you go through the information below. Most of the information you will need is on the Electricity line of your bill.

• Your price plan

  Do you pay TOU, Tiered or Ultra-Low Overnight prices for your electricity? If you’re unsure, take a look at the Electricity line of your bill. Most residential and small business customers in Ontario pay TOU prices.

• Your usage

  How much electricity do you use in a month? If you’re unsure, take a look at the Electricity line on your bill. You might also want to look at the historical usage graph on your bill, which shows your average daily usage over the past 12-month period.

• Do you have an Electric Vehicle?

  The new Ultra-Low Overnight (ULO) price plan was specifically designed for customers who have an EV. The lowest price is from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. 365 days a year.

• Your consumption pattern

  When you use electricity can be another factor in your choice. Historically, the typical residential customer who paid TOU prices has used nearly two thirds of their power at off-peak times — the time when the lowest TOU price applies. The other third of their power used was typically split equally between on- and mid-peak times. Look at the Electricity line of your bill to see how much power you use in each of the three TOU periods.

• Seasonal changes and time of year

  The TOU periods and Tier thresholds change with the season and are different during the winter (November 1 – April 30) and summer (May 1 – October 31) periods. Does the amount of electricity you use change based on the season?

  If you’re thinking about switching, you should pay close attention to how much electricity you use in a month, because on Tiered pricing the price is higher for every kWh of electricity that you use above the Tier threshold of 1,000 kWh in the winter or 600 kWh in the summer. For instance, if you heat your home electrically, your monthly use in the winter may be higher. And the same goes for the summer if you need to run your air conditioner.

  With TOU prices, the price depends on when you use electricity. Although the TOU periods also change with the season, the electricity you use after 7 p.m. every day, and all the time on weekends and holidays, is charged at the lowest price under TOU all year round.

• Lifestyle and daily habits

  Are you often home during the day on weekdays, so that shifting your usage is more challenging? Do you have large appliances that you need to run during the day on weekdays? Can you shift more of that usage to nighttime or weekend hours?

• Small business

  If you’re a small business owner, some of the same factors mentioned earlier also apply – how much electricity do you use each month, and when do you use it? Keep in mind that the Tier threshold for small business customers is 750 kWh all year round. And not all small businesses are the same. A restaurant with several ovens running in the evening may have a very different electricity usage pattern than a small salon that’s only open during the day. So may a dry cleaner compared to a convenience store, or a clothing store compared to a bakery.

With TOU or ULO pricing you’ll receive a different price based on time of day (off-peak, mid-peak, on-peak, or overnight), while with Tiered pricing, you can use a certain amount of electricity each month at a lower price. Once that limit or threshold is exceeded, a higher price applies.

The prices that apply to each of these plans are set once a year by the Ontario Energy Board on November 1, and we pass these prices to you without any markup.

Time-of-Use (TOU) or Ultra-Low Overnight (ULO)

With TOU or ULO price plans, you can help manage your electricity costs by shifting your usage to lower price periods when possible, as the price depends on when you use electricity:

• Overnight (ULO only): When demand for electricity is lowest, year-round.

• Off-peak: When demand for electricity is lowest. Ontario households use most of their electricity — nearly two thirds of it — during off-peak hours.

• Mid-peak: When demand for electricity is moderate. These periods are during the daytime, but not the busiest times of day.

• On-peak: When demand for electricity is generally higher. These are the busier times of day — generally when people are cooking, starting up their computers and running heaters or air conditioners.
   

Tiered

With Tiered prices you have the flexibility to use electricity at any time of day at the same price, although that price will change if you exceed the threshold during the month. You’ll be charged a lower price up to that threshold. Once the threshold is exceeded, a higher price will be applied to usage after the threshold.

The winter period (November 1 – April 30) threshold for residential customers is 1,000 kWh per month, so that households can use more power at the lower price. The summer period (May 1 – October 31) threshold for residential customers is 600 kWh per month. For small business customers, the threshold is 750 kWh throughout the year.

Effective Date: November 1, 2023

Residential – Winter

(Nov. 1, 2023 – April 30, 2024)

Up to 1,000 kWh/month: 10.3¢/kWh

Over 1,000 kWh/month: 12.5¢/kWh

Non-Residential

(Nov. 1, 2023 – Oct. 31, 2024)

Up to 750 kWh/month: 10.3¢/kWh

Over 750 kWh/month: 12.5¢/kWh

Customers who have an Electric Vehicle (EV) and charge it overnight may benefit from the Ultra-Low Overnight price. Shift workers working the evening shift, who use most of their electricity from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. may benefit as well. In addition, small businesses and farmers who use most of their electricity from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. may benefit.

The OEB has designed the Ultra-Low Overnight price plan to benefit customers who have the following consumption profile:

• On-peak: 16% consumption

• Mid-peak: 31% consumption

• Weekend off-peak: 20% consumption

• Ultra-Low overnight: 33% consumption

For customers who are considering a switch, more information is available on our Electricity Prices and Costs page, which includes a link to our updated bill calculator tool to help you see if you would save by switching price plans.

Our research shows most customers believe they should have a choice between TOU, ULO or Tiered pricing. We’ve advocated with the Government of Ontario and other industry stakeholders for choice and flexibility in how customers are billed for electricity. We’re pleased that customers can now switch their pricing plans.

Customers who are on TOU, ULO or Tiered prices are eligible to make the switch at any time. Customers who have a contract with a retailer or who are paying the spot market price aren’t eligible to switch pricing plans at this time.

You can switch your pricing plan anytime, by completing this form or you can switch your pricing plan through myAccount.

You can elect to switch anytime. However, a switch in your pricing plan can only take effect at the beginning of a billing period. We’ll make our best efforts to make the switch effective on your next billing period but depending on when your request was received it may not take effect until the second billing period.

We’ll notify you by email or letter once your switch has been confirmed and will notify you once the switch is effective by a message on your bill.

You can switch back and forth as many times as you like between TOU, ULO and Tiered pricing.

There is no deadline to make the switch. In addition, you will have the flexibility to request a switch back at any time, as your needs change.

To help you make an informed decision, you can use our calculator that will provide you an estimate on whether you may benefit financially from making a switch. If you’d prefer to see an estimate based on your past 12 months of usage, please log on or register for myAccount.

You’ll see information on your new pricing plan on page two of your bill. You’ll also receive a bill message notifying you when the switch is effective on your bill.

 

 

If you’re on Tiered pricing, you can elect to switch to TOU or ULO pricing. However, please note some customers won’t be eligible for TOU or ULO prices if there are any reliability issues with the meter communicating with our infrastructure. We’ll be sure to let you know if this is the case. If for some reason your meter isn’t able to communicate with our infrastructure, please be assured that this issue won’t affect the accuracy of your meter.

At this time, customers on Net Metering can only be billed on Tiered prices.