Time-of-Use Rates -
How Smart Are You?

TOU Rates are electricity prices that vary based on:

• time of day,
• day of week (weekdays versus weekend / statutory holidays), and
• season (winter or summer).

Read below or click the links to find out more:

• Information Sheets
• FAQs
• Links
• Current TOU Electricity Rates
• TOU Holiday Schedule

TOU Rates Start Spring 2011

Starting April 14, 2011, we will begin converting customers from Ontario’s current electricity pricing model to TOU Rates.

Using our normal meter reading schedule, it will take 60 days for us to convert all of our customers to TOU Rates. Prior to April 14, 2011, you will receive a letter from us that details your individual changeover date.

We encourage you to be a smart energy consumer and begin the process of shifting your electricity use to Off-peak times wherever possible.

Time-of-Use Rates Goal: Conservation

We are switching consumers to TOU Rates as part of the Ontario government’s Energy Plan to help promote energy conservation.

Time-of-Use Rates encourage consumers to shift electricity use from Peak to Off-Peak periods whenever possible. This shift:

• reduces the strain on the electricity system,
• helps the environment by reducing the need for coal-fired power
• defers investment in new energy infrastructure, and
• provides customers with a new way of managing their electricity use.

Reason For Peak, Off-Peak and Mid-Peak Times

The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) wants to flatten out the demand cycle for electricity use when it puts the heaviest load on our distribution system. TOU Rates encourage people to shift their electricity use to other times of the day, and thus reduce “peak demand.”

Also, during peak demand periods, electricity is more expensive because the OEB has to either bring online, or purchase, higher-cost electricity.

Summer, Winter and Weekend Time Periods

When we switch over to the summer time period on May 1, 2011, these new TOU Rate time periods will come into effect.

With this changeover, the start time for Off-peak weekday hours will roll back from 9 p.m. to 7 p.m. – giving you an extra 10 Off-peak hours each week.

Be sure to read the OEB's spring insert in your Oakville Hydro bill for more information.

Smart Meters and Time-of-Use Rates

Smart Meters send us your hourly electricity use information. We encrypt and forward this hourly electricity use information to Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). The IESO sorts your Smart Meter hourly data into the TOU Rates periods (Peak, Off-Peak and Mid-Peak), checks that the conversion is correct and then sends this information back to us for billing. We then send you – either through our eBilling system or Canada Post – your bill.

Protecting Your Privacy

Our top priority is to protect your private, confidential information. We are working with our technology partners to ensure that your data is encrypted and secure at every step of its journey from your home or business.

Also, across Oakville Hydro, our staff have received privacy training and everyone understands how essential it is to protect confidential client information.