Latest Changes
Changes to electricity prices for Ontario effective May 1, 2023.
Ontario Energy Board Time of Use Pricing
Changes to the ELECTRICITY line of your bill:
Electricity Prices for May 1, 2023
The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) has updated electricity prices for Regulated Price Plan (RPP) consumers who have their electricity supplied by a utility. If your electricity is supplied by a retailer, you will continue to pay your contract price.
New RPP prices are:
• 8.7 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for energy use up to 600 kWh per month
• 10.3 cents per kWh above that threshold
The threshold for non-residential consumers who are eligible for the price plan stays at 750 kWh throughout the year.
The Price of your Power:
Both tiered and time-of-use (TOU) prices form part of the OEB’s RPP. They are based on the same forecast of how much it will cost to supply your electricity over the next 12 months. The OEB then uses that same forecast to set both the tiered and TOU prices for the coming six-month period. RPP prices are set to recover the total cost of supplying your electricity, regardless of which of these prices (tiered or TOU) your utility is currently using to bill you.
The above prices do not include other additional charges on your total bill.
For more information, visit the “Your Utility” section of the OEB’s consumer website at www.ontarioenergyboard.ca.
TOU Basics
TOU prices are prices that vary over the day – better reflecting the way electricity pricing works in the electricity market.
On-Peak prices – when demand and the cost of electricity are highest.
Mid-Peak prices – when demand and the cost of electricity are moderate.
Off-Peak prices – when demand and the cost of electricity are lowest.
Customers can choose their price plan
Visit the OEB website to compare how the different price plans would impact your bill.
You can now choose to be billed TIERED or TIME-OF-USE. The choice is yours!
Since You Asked…
Our Consumer Relations Centre has heard a number of questions and concerns from consumers like you wondering how TOU prices will affect them. Here are some answers to common concerns we’ve been hearing:
I’m at home during weekdays. I worry about the impact of moving to TOU prices.
Whether you are there or not, your home is consuming electricity. For every hour that your fridge is running on-peak, there are three off-peak hours when you’re paying significantly less than the current tiered prices.
All told, there is a total of 74 hours during the week when prices are higher than the current tiered prices (on-peak and mid-peak) and 93 off-peak hours when prices are lower than the current tiered prices.
The chart on the opposite page offers some rough estimates of what it may cost to do routine household chores during the different pricing periods.
Other than shifting the time I use electricity, how else can I reduce my household electricity costs?
Many electronic items – for example, computers, TVs and cell phone chargers – aren’t fully off unless you pull the plug. Since each can use between 4 and 10 watts of electricity, try to plug them in to a power bar that you can turn off.
MORE TOU TIPS:
• Install a programmable thermostat and set it to reduce your energy use when you’re not home and when you’re sleeping.
• Check for drafts and leaks that will let your winter heat out or invite muggy summer air in. Caulking and weatherstripping are simple and inexpensive.
• In the summer, keep blinds and curtains closed to keep out the midday sun.
• Use a portable fan in conjunction with your air conditioner and don’t set the thermostat below 26°C.
CONTACTING THE ONTARIO ENERGY BOARD
More Questions?
Toll free: 1-877-632-2727 (toll-free within Ontario)
Toronto local: (416) 314-2455 (within the GTA or outside Ontario)
Email: ConsumerRelations@ontarioenergyboard.ca
Website: www.ontarioenergyboard.ca.