Time-of-Use vs Tiered, Customer Choice is coming on your electricity rate on November 1 | Centre Wellington Hydro
If you want to continue paying TOU prices, no action is required. If you would like to learn more about your pricing options visit www.oeb.ca/choice
Q/As for Distributors’ Call Centers and Websites
To switch from TOU to Tiered prices, you must notify Centre Wellington Hydro by completing an election form. Centre Wellington Hydro will begin accepting election forms on October 13, 2020. There is no deadline. You can ask to switch at any time.
Since June 1, 2020, customers on TOU have been paying a fixed electricity price of 12.8 ¢/kWh for all hours of the day (known as the COVID-19 Recovery Rate) which the government put in place as part of the its response to the COVID pandemic. This fixed price ends on October 31, 2020. On November 1, 2020 the TOU prices approved by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) will replace the fixed price.
Off-peak, when demand for electricity is lowest. This price applies in the evenings on weekdays and all day on weekends. Nov. 1, 2020 the new rate is: 10.5 c/kWh
Every household and small business is different, but on average, Ontario households
use nearly two thirds of their electricity during off-peak hours.
Mid-peak, when demand for electricity is moderate. These periods are during the daytime, but not the busiest times of day. Nov. 1, 2020 the new rate is: 15.0 c/kWh
On-peak, when demand for electricity is generally higher. These are the busier times of day – generally when people are cooking, starting up their computers and running heaters or air conditioners. Nov. 1, 2020 the new rate is: 21.7 c/kWh
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. Although May to October 2020 has been an exception due to COVID-19, 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. The Tier threshold for small business customers is 750 kWh all year round.
1st Level – up to 1,000 kWh/month is 12.6 c/kWh
2nd Level – over 1,000 kWh/month is 14.6 c/kWh
Considering a switch to Tiered prices? For more information, go to oeb.ca/choice and use our bill calculator to compare what your bill might look like if you switched from TOU to Tiered pricing.
Starting October 13, 2020, Centre Wellington Hydro must make its election form available on its website, and to any customer that requests it. Centre Wellington Hydro must accept election forms by email or mail at a minimum. You’ll need to fill out the election form to notify Centre Wellington Hydro that you want to switch. The form is intended to be as simple as possible in terms of the information that you need to provide. You should have a recent electricity bill on hand when filling out the form, as you will need your utility account number.
Within 10 business days of receiving your election form, Centre Wellington Hydro must tell you if your election form can’t be processed and must explain why (for instance, if you’re not authorized to make changes to the account, or the account can’t be verified).
If there are no issues with your election form, Centre Wellington Hydro has the same 10 business days to let you know when you can expect to start being billed on Tiered prices.
o Centre Wellington Hydro must start charging you Tiered prices as of your next billing period after you submit your election form if Centre Wellington Hydro receives that form at least 10 business days before that billing period starts, and provided there are no issues with your form (see
o If Centre Wellington Hydro receives your complete election form less than 10 business days before the start of your next billing period, Centre
Wellington Hydro might still be able to switch you for your next billing period. But if Centre Wellington Hydro can’t do so, Centre Wellington
Hydro has to start charging you Tiered prices at the start of the next billing period after that.
o Because a switch in prices can only take effect at the beginning of a billing period, it will take some time between the day you provide your election form and the day you actually start getting charged Tiered prices.
o Even if you provide your election form to Centre Wellington Hydro before the end of October, you’ll very likely pay TOU prices for at least some
period of time – between November 1 and the time when your next complete billing period starts (or the billing period after that, depending on
when you provide your election form).
Customers who are currently paying Tiered prices can’t switch to TOU prices at this time because their meters can’t be used to bill TOU prices. If you live in a condo or apartment that has its own individual meter and your bill comes from a company other than your electricity utility, you are a customer of a unit sub-meter provider (USMP). Customers of USMPs also can’t switch to Tiered prices. That decision can only be made for the building as a whole by the master consumer, who is the person that retained a USMP for the property. In most cases, the master consumer is the property manager, landlord or condominium board.
I am about to sign up with a new electricity utility. Will the utility inform me that Ihave a choice between TOU or Tiered prices before I sign up?
Yes. Centre Wellington Hydro is required to inform all new Regulated Price Plan customers that they have a choice between TOU or Tiered prices when they set up the account.
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