New electricity prices and periods take effect May 1

April 30, 2021

This article was published more than 6 months ago. Some information may no longer be current

New electricity prices and periods take effect May 1

The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) announced new electricity prices and Time-of-use periods for households and small businesses, effective May 1, 2021, under the Regulated Price Plan (RPP).

The Government is also decreasing the Ontario Electricity Rebate (OER) from 21.2 per cent to 18.9 per cent, effective May 1, 2021. The Government’s intention is that, for residential and small business customers, the reduction in the electricity price will be offset by the change in the OER. The OER is a total pre-tax credit that appears at the bottom of electricity bills. As a result of lower RPP prices and the reduced OER, typical residential customer bills will be held stable. The typical residential RPP customer uses 700 kWh of electricity per month.

New RPP prices starting May 1, 2021

The new RPP TOU prices set by the OEB for May 1, 2021 are shown in the table below. The table also shows the hours during which those prices apply:

TOU periods	Summer hours	May 1, 2021 TOU prices
Off-Peak	Weekdays from 7 p.m. - 7 a.m. All day weekends and holidays	8.2 ¢/kWh
Mid-Peak	Weekdays from 7 a.m. - 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.	11.3 ¢/kWh
On-Peak	Weekdays from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.	17.0 ¢/kWh

The table below shows the new RPP Tier prices and summer Tier threshold that apply to residential customers paying Tiered prices:

Tiers

Summer thresholds

May 1, 2021 Tiered prices

Tier 1

Residential – first 600 kWh/month
Non-residential – first 750 kWh/month

9.8 ¢/kWh

Tier 2

Residential – for electricity used above 600 kWh/month
Non-residential – for electricity used above 750 kWh/month

11.5¢/kWh

Power is personal

Residential and small business customers can choose their price plan, either TOU or Tiered pricing. Customers are not required to select a price plan, but if you wish to switch, you must notify us by completing and submitting an election form.

Programs to support electricity customers

There are several programs in place to support electricity customers, including:

Support for residential, small business and registered charitable organization customers who have overdue amounts on their energy bills as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic is available through the COVID-19 Energy Assistance Program and the COVID-19 Energy Assistance Program for Small Business, both funded by the Government of Ontario.
A number of programs are available to help low-income consumers. Find out more at oeb.ca/billhelp.

Utilities Kingston’s electricity customers can learn more about available assistance and apply from our website.

Additional information and resources

Read the OEB Backgrounder
Learn more about the COVID-19 Energy Assistance Programs.
Find out about low-income bill payment support programs.

For information about choosing an electricity price plan.
Learn more about the Government of Ontario’s electricity support programs.