Time of Use Electricity Rates

[Ciel]

Hydro One's rates for time of use. Also note the Victoria Day weekend and Canada Day rate holidays!
https://www.hydroone.com/rates-and-b...cing-and-costs

While May 1 marks the Summer TOU rates, we're on a rate holiday (cheapest rate 24h/7d per week) until May 7.

[Giseledta]

Hydro One's rates for time of use. Also note the Victoria Day weekend and Canada Day rate holidays!
https://www.hydroone.com/rates-and-b...cing-and-costs

While May 1 marks the Summer TOU rates, we're on a rate holiday (cheapest rate 24h/7d per week) until May 7.

i am hoping this will be extended till July ...

[SassyAshley]

I hope they extend it as well. I heard if they did not extend instead of going to Summer Time of Use, we would stay on Winter Time of Use. The Ontario Hydro Board says staying on Winter Time of Use will help lower bills as they are against extending off peak all the time.

[Ciel]

Yesterday there was a headline about an electricity association in Ontario against the electricity subsidy for all ratepayers. The association is amenable to breaks for rural or low-income ratepayers.

Found this item online: https://globalnews.ca/news/6881215/o...n-hydro-rates/

The report does recommend the government keep some subsidies in place for rural and low-income residents, while also continuing to remove the provincial portion of the sales tax from bills.

The hydro rate holiday explained back in March 2020 via the Ontario Energy Board website:
https://news.ontario.ca/opo/en/2020/...-covid-19.html

[tjthemanto]

Yes they only want low rates for low income people, instead of low rates for everyone. Right now lot of rich people who don't want it need rate breaks are also getting it as low rates are applied to everyone.

[FinallyFree]

Just saw this on Twitter. Have not seen official yet but yay!!

NEW: Ontario extends all-day off-peak electricity prices to May 31 as people stay home and work from home during the #COVID19 pandemic. This is usually the overnight and weekend price. #onpoli

[Frugalbigmama]

Just saw this on Twitter. Have not seen official yet but yay!!

Awesome! Thanks for the info!!

[coupon girl]

Yes I saw it on CHCH news this morning-extended til may30/20

[Ciel]

Ontario SCers:
Something caught my eye while reading Alectra Utilities customer newsletter in the recent billing envelope-customers will soon be able to choose whether they get billed on Time of Use rates or on Tiered Billing for their electricity use! The newsletter said that the change will take effect on November 1 and information will soon be shared about the process. I don't know what the rates will be, but I will check Ontario Energy Board's website, as likely I will find out the new electricity prices (as well as natural gas rates, that seem to change quarterly).

Found the ELECTION FORM info on OEB's site! https://www.oeb.ca/rates-and-your-bi...ity-price-plan

Considering our household is not on Alectra's electricity grid, but on Hydro One's grid, this was cool news (been some years since Premier McGuinty's time when tiered pricing disappeared for us!). We get water/wastewater billing via Alectra (serving St. Catharines, Hamilton, Mississauga and beyond). I have to check the Hydro One bill for an insert as I may have missed seeing the same info.

And tonight, while looking at the Ontario Gazette (the provincial government's official record of business and other compelling government news) for something else under the Government-Other category, I came across a change that will apply to the Ontario Energy Board as of October 13, 2020: some changes under their act to allow customers to elect for TOU or Tiered and how those choices are to be communicated. Thought all of you want to know as some Ontario hydro utilities still bill on Tiered pricing, but some others switched to TOU billing (about 5-6 years ago).

Published in the Sept. 25, 2020 issue of the Ontario Gazette, do skip down to Ontario Energy Board and read on:
https://www.ontario.ca/document/onta...-notices-other

[GoodBoy]

Very good information Ciel! Thanks. I will wait to see the Tiered rates before changing. We do not use more than 600 in any month in a year except maybe July or August - this summer it was July at 692. So Tiered may be beneficial for us over the year but some calculations will be needed.

Thanks again!

[Ciel]

Guess everyone at the hydro companies will be standing by to see what surge of elections come through next Tuesday as that is when forms will be accepted. Though it begs the question--why was the election information not provided (with rates!) with the new bills that came last week.
Nov 1 is usually a gasp at the utility bill rate time for us in both electricity and gas depts!

[GoodBoy]

It is interesting that if you choose to switch you can choose to switch back later. I wonder how many switches they will allow you to do. I will stay on TOU for the first month and just track and then decide. Maybe longer. But I think for us the flexibility of Tiered will be useful. Shall see I guess

[tjthemanto]

With things getting dark sooner, you could be using more lights in the house sooner. Although lights don't really use too much electricity.

Also people WFH means more electricity is being used at home These days.

Will be interesting calculation now.

[GoodBoy]

From a Toronto Star article.

“While time-of-use prices are been frozen throughout the day at the same rate of 12.8 cents per kilowatt hour until Oct. 31 in recognition of people working from home, they will change in November to 10.5 cents on weekends and from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays, 21.7 cents during peak times between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and 15 cents between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.”

“The tiered pricing option will be 12.6 cents for the first 1,000 kilowatt hours for residential customers, or 750 kilowatts hours for businesses and other non-residential users, and rising to 14.6 cents beyond those thresholds.”


https://www.thestar.com/politics/pro...-almost-2.html

[Ciel]

Thanks, @GoodBoy , for finding the rates before I did!

Links I promised to post about rates and the Ontario Energy Board rate calculator (tiered vs time of use):
https://dailyhive.com/toronto/ontari...d-pricing-ends


https://www.oeb.ca/rates-and-your-bill/bill-calculator