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As part of its plan to create a culture of conservation, the Government of Ontario directed all local distribution companies to install Smart Meters for all residential and small business customers in the province. In keeping with this mandate, Orillia Power has installed Smart Meters at homes and many small businesses. Between June and August of 2011, these customers will transition to billing on a Time-of-use (TOU) basis. For the small business customers that still have an older “dial” meter, they will have their Smart Meters installed throughout the summer and will then transition to TOU billing.
TOU rates are based on the times of day and the days of the week that traditionally experience the highest and lowest electricity demands. When demand and production costs for electricity are at their highest, rates will reflect “on-peak” prices; when costs are low, the rates are lower. In simple terms, the Smart Meter reads your electrical consumption on an hourly basis and TOU rates are applied according to the time and the day of the week you use it.
Smart Meters and TOU rates can help you manage your electricity costs if you choose to shift some of your electrical use to lower cost periods. For example, by running your dishwasher or other appliances during a low demand time, such as weeknights or weekends, you can reduce your electricity costs because you will pay the “off-peak” rate.
Shifting your load to “off peak” will reduce your costs and help the province smooth out “peak demand” periods, which will result in a more efficient and less costly electricity system for all of us. Managing the “peak demand” period also has a positive impact on the environment by reducing our dependency on fossil fuel fired peak generation.
The graph below illustrates the daily breakdown when on-peak, mid-peak and off-peak pricing applies and the applicable rates for these time periods.
Time-of-Use Pricing Guide
(prices subject to change May 1 and November 1 of each year)
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