How Will Time-of-Use Pricing Work?
With Time-of-Use pricing, electricity prices will vary, based on when it is used. That includes time of day, day of week (weekdays versus weekend), and season (winter or summer). This is a significant change from the way prices currently work. Right now, our electricity rates* are based on averaging out the more expensive (daytime) and cheaper (night time) prices of electricity, simply because our older meters can’t report when it was used. Time-of-Use pricing will encourage Ontarians to shift some electricity use to off-peak hours. Time-of-Use pricing better reflects the way the electricity market works. Prices rise and fall over the course of the day and tend to drop overnight and on weekends based on the amount of supply available and our levels of demand. *The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) sets prices for electricity under the Regulated Price Plan (RPP). They are based on the electricity supply costs forecast for the year ahead, and any adjustments required due to differences between
