The Ontario government is launching a new Ultra-Low Overnight price plan as part of its plan to provide consumers with more ways to keep costs down, save money and take control of their energy bills. Starting May 1, 2023, customers of Toronto Hydro, London Hydro, Centre Wellington Hydro, Hearst Power, Renfrew Hydro, Wasaga Distribution, and Sioux Lookout Hydro can opt-in to this new optional electricity price plan, with all utilities required to offer it to customers within six months.

This new Ultra Low Overnight rate plan being introduced is an optional plan that residential and small business customers might be interested in investigating.  It drastically increases the spread between on-peak and off-peak pricing, providing customers who have the ability to control their electricity usage with an opportunity to drastically reduce their electricity costs. Additionally, the new plan recognizes the changing nature of electricity demand in the province and has moved the peak demand period to the actual hours of peak demand in the province.

New options and technologies for taking control of your power usage are being developed all the time. Smart appliances that can be scheduled, rooftop solar, and battery storage are among the many tools available to consumers who want to act on this new price plan. Many of these solutions also provide other benefits such as improved power resiliency and overall lower energy usage and the new price plan can improve the business case for them.

As companies look to implement net zero plans this additional tool to manage costs associated with electrification is anticipated to generate a high level of interest. If you are interested in investigating this or other approaches for participating in the clean energy transition, please contact us at info@ortech.ca