If you’re a residential or small business customer, you can choose to switch between Time-of-Use (TOU), Tiered and Ultra-Low Overnight (ULO) prices.
To switch price plans, you must notify Grimsby Power by completing a Regulated Price Plan election form. The form is available online below or you can contact us at 905-945-5437 option 2 or customeraccounts@grimsbypower.com to have a form sent to you by mail or email.
If you have the form sent to you by email or mail the form can be submitted by email to customeraccounts@grimsbypower.com, mailed to 231 Roberts Road, Grimsby, ON, L3M 5N2 or faxed to 905-945-9933. The form can also be deposited in our 24/7 drive through drop box at 231 Roberts Road.
Regulated Price Plan Online Election Form
For a printable copy of the form please click here.
If you want to stay with your current price plan, no action is required.
About TOU and ULO Prices
With TOU and ULO prices, the price depends on when you use electricity. You can help manage your electricity costs by shifting your usage to lower price periods when possible.
With TOU, there are three price periods:
People use electricity differently depending on the season, so the TOU price periods are different in the winter than they are in the summer.
With ULO, there are four price periods:
About Tiered Prices
With Tiered prices, you can use a certain amount of electricity each month at a lower price. Once that limit (called a threshold) is exceeded, a higher price applies. For residential customers, the threshold normally changes with the season to reflect changing usage patterns – for example, there are fewer hours of daylight in the winter and some customers use electric heating.
In the winter period (November 1 – April 30), the Tier threshold for residential customers is 1,000 kWh so that households can use more power at the lower price. In the summer period (May 1 – October 31), the Tier threshold for residential customers is 600 kWh.
For small business customers, the Tier threshold is 750 kWh all year round.
Tiered prices give you the flexibility to use electricity at any time of day at the same price, although that price will change if you exceed the threshold during the month.
Considering a Switch?
Are you thinking about opting out of TOU prices in favour of Tiered prices? Here are a few things to consider. Make sure you have some of your recent electricity bills handy as you go through the information below. Keep in mind the effect of COVID-19 on your electricity use (for instance, you may be working from home when you normally wouldn’t be). Most of the information you will need is on the Electricity line of your bill.
Do you pay TOU or Tiered prices for your electricity? If you’re unsure, take a look at the Electricity line of your bill. Most residential and small business customers in Ontario pay TOU prices.
How much electricity do you use in a month? If you’re unsure, take a look at the Electricity line on your bill. You might also want to look at the historical usage graph on your bill, which shows your average daily usage over the past 12-month period.
When you use electricity can be another factor in your choice. Historically, the typical residential customer who paid TOU prices has used nearly two thirds of their power at off-peak times – the time when the lowest TOU price applies. The other third of their power used was typically split equally between on- and mid-peak times. Look at the Electricity line of your bill to see how much power you use in each of the three TOU price periods.
As described above, the TOU price periods and Tier thresholds change with the season and are different during the winter (November 1 – April 30) and summer (May 1 – October 31) periods. Does the amount of electricity you use change based on the season?
If you’re thinking about switching, you should pay close attention to how much electricity you use in a month, because on Tiered pricing the price is higher for every kWh of electricity that you use above the Tier threshold of 1,000 kWh in the winter or 600 kWh in the summer. For instance, if you heat your home electrically, your monthly use in the winter may be higher. And the same goes for the summer if you need to run your air conditioner.
With TOU prices, the price depends on when you use electricity. Although the TOU price periods also change with the season, the electricity you use after 7 p.m. every day, and all the time on weekends and holidays, is charged at the lowest price under TOU all year round.
Are you often home during the day on weekdays, so that shifting your usage is more challenging? Do you have large appliances that you need to run during the day on weekdays? Can you shift more of that usage to nighttime or weekend hours?
If you’re a small business owner, some of the same factors mentioned earlier also apply – how much electricity do you use each month, and when do you use it? Keep in mind that the Tier threshold for small business customers is 750 kWh all year round. And not all small businesses are the same. A large restaurant with several ovens running in the evening may have a very different electricity usage pattern than a small salon that’s only open during the day. So may a dry cleaner compared to a convenience store, or a clothing store compared to a bakery.
Compare Time-of-Use to Tiered Pricing
The Ontario Energy Board has prepared a Bill Calculator to help customers make an informed decision regarding the switch between TOU and Tiered rates. To make a comparison using the calculator please click the calculator button below.
Rules for TOU Customer Choice
If you’re a TOU customer and don’t want to switch to Tiered prices, you don’t need to do anything. You will stay on TOU prices.
If you do want to switch to Tiered prices, here are the rules that apply. These rules also apply if you later want to switch back to TOU prices.
For more information about TOU and Tiered pricing, visit oeb.ca/choice.
For more information about the 2023 supply mix please click here.
READ ALL ARTICLESFor more information about the 2023 supply mix please click here.
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