Ontario looking into lower price plan for overnight electricity use

Hydro towers are seen over a golf course in Toronto on Wednesday, November 4, 2015.

Ontario is looking into offering a lower price plan for overnight electricity use, a move Minister Todd Smith said would help spur electric vehicle adoption.

Smith said the "ultra-low overnight price plan" would benefit shift workers, encourage more people to get electric vehicles and give people more control over their energy bills.

"With electric vehicle use expanding, this new rate would support those families who are looking to better manage their energy bills by reducing EV charging costs if they choose to charge at home during the night when the province has surplus electricity," Smith said at a news conference Wednesday.

"Delivering this ultra-low overnight rate is possible as our province continues to have excess electricity during overnight hours that we often have to sell off to Michigan or to New York. And by incentivizing overnight electricity consumption, we can actually make better use of Ontario's clean electricity supply when provincewide demand is low."

Smith wrote to the Ontario Energy Board asking them to come back with options on the idea and include defined price ratios, estimated revenue to be recovered, potential bill impacts and shifts in peak demand in its rate designs.

The province is also launching a public consultation on the idea with a goal of making the new price plan available by April 2023, nearly a year after the provincial election.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 9, 2021.