Choose Your Electricity Pricing Plan
If you’re a small business customer paying time-of-use rates, you now have a choice of which Electricity Pricing Plan is best for your lifestyle starting November 1, 2020, with the option of a time-of-use or tiered pricing plan.
To switch from TOU to Tiered prices, you must notify SYNERGY NORTH by completing an election form, available online by logging into your MyENERGY account and completing the Pricing Plan Form on the Contact Us page.
With your historical time-of-use and average monthly electricity usage, the MyENERGY portal will provide resources to help you choose the right electricity pricing plan for your lifestyle. With a MyENERGY account, you can track your electricity consumption, securely receive and view your bills online, and monitor how your chosen electricity pricing plan is working for you.
The new electricity rates set by the Ontario Energy Board take effect on November 1, 2020. To help you choose the electricity pricing plan that best meets your lifestyle, additional information and tools are available.
There are no restrictions as to when you must choose your electricity pricing plan; once you make your choice, the change will be reflected on your next bill. Customers who do not wish to make the change immediately will continue to be billed under a time-of-use pricing plan. The option to switch to tiered rates in the future will always be available.
Time-of-Use Pricing Plan
Most of Ontario’s residential and small business consumers pay time-of-use (TOU) rates − this means how much they pay for electricity depends on when they use it.
Under TOU pricing, consumers pay higher prices when electricity is more expensive to produce and lower prices when it is less expensive. This pricing framework gives consumers the opportunity to lower their costs by shifting their usage to less costly times of the day.
Tiered Pricing Plan
Tiered Pricing is for residential and small business customers who pay a set rate for electricity up to a certain level of consumption. The rate increases for all additional electricity used when consumption by these customers exceeds that threshold. The tiers are different for home and business consumers. The OEB determines the new tiered rates every six months at the same time as it sets the TOU rates. The global adjustment is incorporated into tiered pricing.
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 SYNERGY NORTH electricity bill 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.
Your price plan
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.
Your usage
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.
Your consumption pattern
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.
Seasonal changes and time of year
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.
Lifestyle and daily habits
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?
Small Business
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.
The new electricity rates set by the Ontario Energy Board take effect on November 1, 2020. To help you choose the electricity pricing plan that best meets your lifestyle, additional information and tools are available.
To submit your Electricity Pricing Plan choice by email or mail, please download our Online Election Form and send to:
Synergy North Corporation
Attn: Customer Service
34 Cumberland Street North
Thunder Bay, ON P7A 4L4
email: customerservice@synergynorth.ca
SYNERGY NORTH Customer Service
Email: customerservice@synergynorth.ca
Phone: 807-343-1111 or 1-833-428-1451(toll-free)