Ontario Time-of-Use Electricity Rates: Current Prices and Peak Hours
Ontario's electricity rates changed on November 1, 2025, and a lot of the explainers still online are quietly using old numbers. This guide covers the current Ontario electricity rates time-of-use pricing, the exact electricity peak hours Ontario households are billed on, and how time-of-use pricing actually compares to Tiered and Ultra-Low Overnight. By the end, shifting a routine into cheap hours should feel like a specific, doable move rather than a vague suggestion.
Ontario's Current Time-of-Use Rates and Peak Hours
The Ontario Energy Board sets these prices twice a year, and the current set took effect in November 2025 and runs through the end of April 2026. Here's exactly what's on the meter right now.
Period | Rate (¢/kWh) | Winter Hours (Nov 1 to Apr 30) |
Off-peak | 9.8 | Weekdays 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. , plus all day weekends and statutory holidays |
Mid-peak | 15.7 | Weekdays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
On-peak | 20.3 | Weekdays 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. |
The schedule flips for summer, running May 1 through October 31. On-peak becomes the single midday block from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and mid-peak takes over the two windows that were on-peak in winter, the early morning and early evening hours. Off-peak hours themselves stay the same in both seasons, so the overnight and weekend rate never actually moves.
On-peak pricing runs roughly double the off-peak rate, which sounds dramatic until it's clear most households already avoid the worst of it. Ontario homes already use about two-thirds of their electricity during off-peak hours by default, according to the regulator's current rate tables, simply because evenings, nights, and weekends are when most usage naturally happens anyway.
Those are the TOU numbers specifically, but TOU isn't the only rate plan on offer, and it isn't always the cheapest one.
TOU vs. Tiered vs. Ultra-Low Overnight: Which Plan Actually Saves You More?
Ontario households actually get a choice between three pricing structures, and the right one depends entirely on when the electricity in a given home actually gets used.
Plan | Key Rates (¢/kWh) | Best Fit |
Tiered | 12.0 up to 1,000 kWh a month in winter (600 in summer), then 14.2 | Steady, hard-to-shift usage that doesn't move much by hour |
Time-of-Use | 9.8 off-peak, 15.7 mid-peak, 20.3 on-peak | Households that can shift some laundry and appliances used to evenings or weekends |
Ultra-Low Overnight | 3.9 overnight, 9.8 weekend off-peak, 15.7 mid-peak, 39.1 on-peak | EV owners or anyone who can genuinely move most usage to overnight hours |
Tiered pricing rewards households that can't move much, since the first 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month in winter get the flat 12.0 cent rate regardless of when they're used, dropping to a 600 kilowatt-hour threshold in summer before the higher tier kicks in. ULO is the opposite bet: that 3.9 cent overnight rate is the cheapest electricity in the province, but the tradeoff is a steep 39.1 cents during its narrower on-peak window, which punishes anyone who can't actually shift their evening routine.
Whichever plan gets picked, the Ontario Electricity Rebate applies on top of it automatically. Following the rate change effective November 2025, the rebate itself moved from 13.1 percent to 23.5%, showing up as its own line that reduces the electricity portion of the bill no matter which of the three plans is active.
Because the rebate applies automatically to eligible accounts while other savings, like home renovation and heat pump rebate stacking, require actively applying and providing documentation, it's worth knowing what shows up on its own versus what needs paperwork before assuming every discount arrives without any extra effort.
Whichever plan you're on, the real savings only show up if you actually shift usage into the cheap hours.
How to Shift Usage to Off-Peak Hours (and Actually Save)
Knowing the rates is one thing. Actually, moving usage into the cheap windows is where the savings become real rather than theoretical.
Run the dishwasher and laundry after 7 p.m. on weekdays, or any time on weekends, when off-peak pricing applies all day
Charge an EV overnight rather than after work, landing it squarely in the cheapest hours instead of the most expensive ones
Avoid running major appliances specifically during the 7 to 11 a.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. windows, since those are the two blocks priced at the full on-peak rate
An EV plugged into a properly sized Level 2 charger overnight is usually the single biggest flexible load in a household, which makes it the easiest place to see a real difference on the bill once it's moved off the on-peak schedule entirely.
The honest limit here is that most people can't move dinner-hour cooking or the evening heating and cooling load no matter how disciplined the rest of the routine gets, and that's exactly the gap battery storage is built to close.
For anyone in a rental without permanent generator options, a portable battery charged during off-peak hours can quietly cover the fridge and a few essentials through the priciest window without any wiring changes or landlord approval needed.
Once you know your usage pattern, switching plans itself is a quick, reversible step.
How to Switch Your Rate Plan
Switching between TOU, Tiered, and ULO doesn't require a new contract or a service call. It's a request made directly through the local utility.
Toronto Hydro, Alectra, Hydro One, Hydro Ottawa, and other Ontario utilities all handle the switch for free, and it typically takes effect on the next billing cycle rather than immediately.
Before switching, it's worth pulling two to three months of actual hourly usage data through the utility's Green Button portal, since guessing at how much usage can realistically be shifted tends to overstate the savings on paper. And how switching rules vary by province is worth knowing too, since someone who's shopped for a plan in Alberta or BC shouldn't assume Ontario's process, or the savings math, transfers over directly.
With the rates, the schedule, and the plan comparison covered, here's the short version.
Conclusion
Ontario's current TOU rates of 9.8 cents/kWh off-peak, 15.7 cents/kWh mid-peak, and 20.3 cents/kWh on-peak, reward shifting usage into cheap hours, but ULO and Tiered can each beat TOU depending on how a household actually uses power. Pull real usage data before assuming which plan is cheapest, and consider battery storage for the load that genuinely can't be shifted. The DELTA 3 Ultra Plus and DELTA 3 Max Plus covered above make both the ULO overnight shift and smaller-footprint backup straightforward to act on.
FAQs
What are Ontario's current time-of-use electricity rates?
As of November 2025 through April 2026, TOU pricing runs 9.8 cents per kilowatt-hour off-peak, 15.7 cents mid-peak, and 20.3 cents on-peak. These figures are set by the Ontario Energy Board and adjust twice a year, so it's worth double-checking before relying on numbers from an older article.
What time do on-peak and off-peak hours start in Ontario?
In winter, on-peak runs weekdays from 7 to 11 a.m. and again from 5 to 7 p.m., mid-peak covers weekdays at 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and off-peak covers weekday evenings and nights plus all day on weekends and holidays. The on-peak and mid-peak windows swap places in summer, though off-peak hours stay the same year round.
Is TOU or Tiered pricing cheaper for a typical household?
It depends on how flexible the usage is. Tiered tends to work out cheaper for steady, hard-to-shift consumption, while TOU rewards households that can do some laundry, dishwashing, or charging into evenings and weekends. Neither plan is universally cheaper, which is why checking actual usage data before switching matters.
What is the Ultra-Low Overnight (ULO) rate plan, and who is it best for?
ULO offers a 3.9 cent overnight rate between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., the cheapest electricity available in Ontario, in exchange for a steep 39.1 cent on-peak rate during weekday evenings. It suits EV owners and anyone who can genuinely shift most usage overnight, but it can backfire for households that can't move their evening routine. A charged EcoFlow DELTA 3 Ultra Plus can help bridge that on-peak window automatically.
How do I switch my electricity rate plan in Ontario?
Switching is free and handled directly through the local utility, whether that's Toronto Hydro, Alectra, Hydro One, Hydro Ottawa, or another provider, and it usually takes effect on the next billing cycle. Pulling a few months of Green Button usage data first gives a much more realistic sense of expected savings than guessing.
Does the Ontario Electricity Rebate apply no matter which rate plan I choose?
Yes, the 23.5 percent Ontario Electricity Rebate applies automatically on top of whichever plan is active, whether that's TOU, Tiered, or ULO, and shows up as its own line reducing the electricity portion of the bill.