Ontario Off-Peak Electricity Hours: When Power Costs Less and How to Use It
The same load of laundry can cost very different amounts in Ontario, and the only difference is the clock. Under the Ultra-Low Overnight plan, the weekday on-peak price is about ten times the overnight price. That gap is why off-peak electricity hours in Ontario matter to almost every household budget. This guide shows when off-peak hours start and end in each season. It also covers what each price plan charges today, how holidays are treated, and practical ways to move more of your usage into cheaper hours.
How Ontario's Electricity Price Plans Work
Most Ontario homes buy electricity under the Regulated Price Plan. The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) sets those prices, and what you pay per kilowatt-hour depends on your plan. There are three plans to choose from.
Time-of-Use (TOU): Three prices that change with the time of day and the season. Most households are on this plan by default.
Ultra-Low Overnight (ULO): A very low overnight price, paired with a much higher weekday on-peak price.
Tiered: One price up to a monthly threshold, then a higher price above it. The time of day makes no difference.
Plan | How the price changes | Best suited for |
TOU | By time of day, day of the week and season | Homes that can move some chores to evenings and weekends |
ULO | By time of day, with the lowest price from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. | Homes with heavy overnight use, such as EV charging |
Tiered | By how much electricity you use each month | Homes that use most of their power on weekday daytimes |
The OEB typically sets new prices on November 1 each year, so it is worth rechecking them every fall. The Ontario Energy Board's electricity rates page lists the prices currently in effect.
Ontario's approach is only one of several in the country. In practice, time-of-use rates differ by province, and some provinces do not use them at all.
Knowing which plan you are on is the first step. The next is knowing exactly when the cheapest hours fall.
Off-Peak Electricity Hours in Ontario by Season and Plan
Under TOU, off-peak hours stay the same all year. What changes with the season is the order of the mid-peak and on-peak windows. ULO follows a different clock, and it does not change by season.
TOU Hours on Weekdays
Season | Off-peak | Mid-peak | On-peak |
Summer (May 1 to Oct 31) | 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. | 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. | 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
Winter (Nov 1 to Apr 30) | 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. | 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. | 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. |
Weekends and statutory holidays are off-peak all day under TOU.
ULO Hours All Year
Period | When it applies |
Ultra-low overnight | 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., every day |
Weekend off-peak | 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends and holidays |
Mid-peak | 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays |
On-peak | 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays |
One detail is easy to miss. Weekday evenings from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. are off-peak on TOU, but not on ULO. On ULO, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. is still on-peak, and 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. is mid-peak.
Current Off-Peak and Peak Rates
These are the prices that took effect on November 1, 2025, shown in cents per kWh. They make it easy to compare off peak electricity rates with peak rates across the plans.
Plan | Period | Price (cents per kWh) |
TOU | Off-peak | 9.8 |
TOU | Mid-peak | 15.7 |
TOU | On-peak | 20.3 |
ULO | Ultra-low overnight | 3.9 |
ULO | Weekend off-peak | 9.8 |
ULO | Mid-peak | 15.7 |
ULO | On-peak | 39.1 |
Tiered | Tier 1 | 12.0 |
Tiered | Tier 2 | 14.2 |
For tiered customers, the residential threshold is 600 kWh a month in summer and 1,000 kWh a month in winter.
Holiday Pricing
The OEB's 2026 holiday schedule lists 10 days that get off-peak treatment. They are New Year's Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, the Civic Holiday, Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. On TOU, those days are off-peak all day. On ULO, they follow the weekend schedule.
When a holiday lands on a weekend, holiday pricing applies on the next weekday that is not also a holiday. That is why Boxing Day pricing applies on Monday, December 28, 2026.
These windows follow demand on the grid. In most of the province, electricity demand peaks during the day, when homes and businesses draw power at the same time.
Moving chores to cheaper hours helps, but dinner and home heating cannot always wait. Storing cheaper power ahead of time is the other half of the strategy.
Storing Off-Peak Power to Use During Peak Hours
Cooking dinner, running the air conditioner and working from home often land in peak windows. A home battery can charge when prices are low and power the home when prices are highest. How much that saves depends on your plan.
The price gap shows why. On ULO, power stored overnight at 3.9 cents per kWh can replace grid power that costs 39.1 cents on weekday evenings. On TOU, the gap is smaller. Off-peak power at 9.8 cents replaces on-peak power at 20.3 cents.
Take 5kWh moved from the on-peak window to the cheapest period each weekday. Before charging losses, that is worth about $1.76 a day on ULO and about 53 cents on TOU. Shifting alone adds up slowly, so larger savings estimates usually include solar as well.
Solar is not required to get started, though. A home battery backup without solar can still shift usage through scheduled charging, which suits homes not ready for panels.
The EcoFlow TITAN series is a modular home battery built for this kind of daily use, as well as outage backup. Each main unit starts at 5kWh and expands into 5kWh plug-in modules. Connecting one to home circuits uses the EcoFlow Smart Home Panel 10, and that work should be done by a qualified electrician under local codes.
The EcoFlow TITAN Plus is the model to see if solar is part of the plan.
That savings estimate needs context. The figure of about $1,100 CAD a year comes from one specific setup. It assumes a 15kWh EcoFlow TITAN Plus system, 8kW of solar and a home using about 9,000kWh a year on Toronto ULO rates.
Solar production does much of the work in that estimate. Charging at off-peak prices and discharging at peak prices will not deliver the same return on its own. The estimate also leaves out fixed service charges, taxes, financing, incentives and bill credits.
The standard EcoFlow TITAN suits households at regular TOU rates that want to begin with storage and add panels later.
Once you know how storage fits in, the bigger question is which price plan gives your household the best return.
TOU vs ULO vs Tiered: Choosing the Right Plan
No single plan is cheapest for everyone. The right choice depends on when your household uses the most electricity. A quick look at your routine usually points to one plan.
Household type | Plan that often fits | Why |
Night owls, shift workers and overnight EV charging | ULO | Heavy use lands in the 3.9 cent overnight window |
At home on weekdays with little room to shift usage | Tiered may be worth comparing | The price does not change with the time of day |
Typical 9 to 5 households with some flexibility | TOU | Weekday evenings after 7 p.m. and weekends are off-peak |
Home with battery storage | ULO | Power stored overnight can cover the 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. peak |
Switching is handled by your utility, not the OEB. You submit an election form, and the utility has 10 business days to confirm the change or explain a refusal. The new plan starts at the beginning of a billing period.
The OEB is clear that switching does not guarantee savings. Its bill calculator estimates your bill under each plan, using your own usage.
A benchmark also helps before you compare. Knowing the average Ontario household electricity bill shows how your own costs measure up against a typical home.
Whatever plan you choose, small daily habits decide how much of your usage lands in the cheaper hours.
Simple Ways to Shift Usage Into Off-Peak Hours
Most savings come from moving flexible loads, not from giving up comfort. The right timing depends on your plan, because TOU and ULO treat weekday evenings differently. On TOU, off-peak starts at 7 p.m. On ULO, the cheapest power starts at 11 p.m.
Habit | On the TOU plan | On the ULO plan |
Dishwasher, washer and dryer | After 7 p.m. on weekdays, or any time on weekends | After 11 p.m. for the lowest price, or on weekends at the weekend off-peak price |
EV charging | After 7 p.m. on weekdays, or on weekends | After 11 p.m., when the ultra-low overnight price applies |
Weekday hours to avoid for heavy loads | Summer: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Winter: 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. | 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. |
Weekday evenings, 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. | Off-peak | On-peak until 9 p.m., then mid-peak until 11 p.m. |
A few habits work on either plan:
Use delay-start settings and smart plugs so appliances run in your cheapest window without you.
Pre-cool or pre-heat the home before your on-peak window starts.
Save large batches of laundry and baking for the weekend.
One credit applies no matter when you use power. The Ontario Electricity Rebate is currently 23.5%, and it appears automatically on eligible residential bills.
Over a full year, households can maximize savings with Ontario's pricing by combining good timing, scheduling and storage.
Conclusion
Off-peak electricity hours in Ontario depend on your plan. On TOU, they run from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays, plus all weekends and holidays. On ULO, the lowest price of 3.9 cents per kWh applies from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Check your plan, compare it with your routine and move flexible loads into cheaper hours. For usage that cannot move, the EcoFlow TITAN Plus and EcoFlow TITAN can store lower-cost power for peak hours.
FAQs
What time is off-peak electricity in Ontario?
On the TOU plan, off-peak runs from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays, all year. On the ULO plan, the lowest price applies from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. every day.
Are weekends off-peak for electricity in Ontario?
Yes on TOU, where weekends are off-peak all day. On ULO, weekends are charged the weekend off-peak price from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. The ultra-low overnight price applies after that.
Which statutory holidays are off-peak in Ontario?
The OEB lists 10 holidays for 2026, from New Year's Day to Boxing Day. If a holiday falls on a weekend, the next weekday that is not a holiday gets holiday pricing.
Is the Ultra-Low Overnight plan worth it?
It can be, if much of your usage happens overnight, such as EV charging. It can cost more if you use a lot of power on weekdays from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. The OEB bill calculator compares the plans using your own usage.
When do Ontario electricity rates change?
The OEB typically sets new Regulated Price Plan prices each November 1. The current prices took effect on November 1, 2025. TOU periods also switch between summer and winter schedules on May 1 and November 1.
Can a home battery help me save on peak electricity rates?
Yes. A battery can charge in low-price hours and power your home during on-peak windows. A system such as the EcoFlow TITAN Plus can schedule this through the EcoFlow App. Savings depend on your plan, your usage and whether you have solar.