Choose Your Electricity Pricing Plan
If you’re a Residential or Small Business customer, you have a choice of which Electricity Pricing Plan is best for your lifestyle, with the option between Time-of-Use (TOU), Tiered and Ultra-Low Overnight (ULO) pricing plans.
To switch your Electricity Pricing Plan, you must notify SYNERGY NORTH by completing an election form, by logging into your MyENERGY account and completing the Pricing Plan Form on the Contact Us page.
With your historical 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.
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 their current pricing plan. The option to switch Electricity Pricing Plans 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.
Winter Time of Use Pricing (November 1, 2023, to April 30, 2024) is:
| 8.7¢ per kWh off-peak |
| 12.2¢ per kWh mid-peak |
| 18.2¢ per kWh on-peak |
Tiered Pricing Plan
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. 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, increasing lighting use, 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.
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.
Winter Tiered Pricing (November 1, 2023, to April 30, 2024) is:
Residential:
10.3¢ per kWh for consumption up to 1000 kWh/month
12.5¢ per kWh for consumption above 1000 kWh/month
Ultra-Low Overnight Pricing Plan
Like the TOU prices, under the ULP pricing plan, the price depends on when you use electricity. You can help manage your electricity costs by shifting your usage to lower price periods when possible.
With ULO, there are four price periods:
- Ultra-Low Overnight: When demand for electricity is lowest on average.
- Weekend Off-peak: When demand for electricity is generally lower.
- Mid-peak: When demand for electricity is moderate.
- On-peak: When demand for electricity is highest on average.
Summer Ultra-Low Overnight Pricing (November 1, 2023, to April 30, 2024) is:
| 28.6¢ per kWh On-peak |
| 12.2¢ per kWh Mid-peak |
| 8.7¢ per kWh Weekend off-peak |
| 2.8¢ per kWh Ultra-Low Overnight |
Considering a Switch?
Are you thinking about changing your Electricity Pricing Plan? 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, most of the information you will need is on the Electricity line of your bill.
Your Price Plan
Do you pay TOU, Tiered or ULO 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 electricity pricing structures 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 and ULO 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. And with ULO, the price periods remain the same 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?
To help you choose the electricity pricing plan that best meets your lifestyle, additional information and tools are available.
Have Questions?
SYNERGY NORTH Customer Service
Email: customerservice@synergynorth.ca
Phone: 807-343-1111 or 1-833-428-1451(toll-free)