The Canadian province of Ontario announced that a time-of-use energy pricing (TOU) system will come online next month.  Ontario’s TOU-equipped smart meter system is the largest of its kind in the world.

Ontario’s smart meter installation project began in 2006.  It is set for completion by the end of the year when every energy customer in the province will have one installed.

Not everyone within the province will benefit from TOU rates right away however 40,000 residents in Milton, Newmarket, and Chatham-Kent are the first to participate.  The variable rates will next become available in June when ten thousand homes in Toronto are integrated into the system.  

“This is a great opportunity to save some money,” said Toronto Mayor David Miller.”

By the summer of 2010 a million households will be on be participating and in June of 2011 the program will have been introduced to about 3.6 million customers.

TOU rates allow energy consumers to monitor the actual price of energy, in real time, and adjust their energy consumption accordingly.  Currently there are three different rate periods in Ontario: peak, mid-peak, and off-peak.  The off-peak rate is 4.2 cents per kilowatt hour and the peak rate is 9.1 cents.  The mid-peak rate is 7.6 cents per kilowatt hour.

Every six months the electrical rates will be determined by the Ontario Energy Board based upon the projected supply and demand of energy.  Rates will be adjusted annually in May and November.

Off-peak rates will be available during evening hours, after 10pm, and on weekends.  On November 1 the off-peak rates become available 1 hour earlier during the week.  Energy consumers that keep up with the changing rates will be able to shift their energy-consuming tasks, such as doing laundry, to off-peak times.  Doing so will not only reduce the monthly energy bill but will also benefit the environment.  The less power a household consumes the less carbon emissions are released into the environment.

“Time-of-use pricing is what makes our smart meters 'smart,' by telling us how much electricity we are using throughout the day,” said George Smitherman, Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure.  “With this information, the message is to first, reduce our overall energy use, and second, to shift as much of our electricity use as possible to later in the evening and on weekends because that’s when it’s cheapest.”

“We all have the chance to reduce our electricity costs,” Smitherman explained.

Local electric utilities will determine exactly when TOU rates become available.  Consumers that already have contracts with retail electricity providers will still be required to follow the terms of the contract.

“With a smart meter, and after the time-of-use rates are implemented, our customers will be able to monitor their usage and shift some of the heavy electricity use to periods of the day when the price is lower,” said Brad Randall, President and CEO of Norfolk Power, a local energy provider.  Smart meter installations began in Norfolk County this month.  Currently, a specific date has not been set for TOU rates to be introduced to the area.

Norfolk Power Distribution Inc.    
PO Box 588     
70 Victoria Street     
Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N6
http://www.norfolkpower.on.ca
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