Time-of-Use FAQ

Ontario is introducing smart meters-along with a "time-of-use" electricity price structure-to help you manage your electricity costs, while helping Ontario to build a more efficient, more environmentally sound electricity system. Here's more...

Between now and 2025, Ontario will replace about 80 per cent of its electricity system. There are several ways to do that:

1. building new generating facilities
2. refurbishing current facilities (where that makes economic sense
3. investing in conservation and energy management tools so that we require less new electricity generating capacity

Smart meters measure hourly electricity use, so prices can be set based on the time of day. That better matches the way prices work in the electricity market, and will encourage us to think more about how and when we use electricity. As we move consumption away from the more expensive (peak) times of the day, we can help Ontario reduce its peak demand, which can help limit the building and operation of peak generating facilities.

Supplying electricity at peak times (those times when we're all using a lot of electricity) has a range of impacts:

Supplying electricity at peak times (those times when we're all using a lot of electricity) has a range of impacts:.

A Smart meter is a meter that can record and automatically report electricity consumption information.

In Ontario, our smart meters will record electricity consumption on an hourly basis, and, typically, report that information via a wireless technology.

Knowing when electricity is used allows for the introduction of "time-of-use" (TOU) electricity rates-and that will give you a new way to manage and potentially reduce costs.

Right now, we have very little incentive to manage our electricity use because electricity prices remain the same no matter what the time of day-simply because our meters cannot report when electricity is used.

TOU rates will vary over the day-the highest rate will be in place during times of peak demand (when we tend to use a lot of electricity) and the lowest rate during the off-peak periods. With TOU rates, your choices about how and when you use electricity can have a positive impact on your costs.

Here are three of the major new benefits that you will see as soon as time-of-use rates are in effect:

1. You will be able to take new actions to manage your energy bill. With a smart meter and time-of-use rates, you will be able to take advantage of two cost-cutting strategies. These include:

With a smart meter and the implementation of tou rates, you will pay less for the electricity you consume during off-peak periods (after 9 p.m. during the week, and on weekends and holidays). Lakefront Utilities Inc. will have the data consumption required to bill you at off-peak rates.

No. Smart meters will be standard province-wide.

Under Ontario's Smart Meter Initiative, residential and small business electricity consumers across the province will receive a smart meter by 2011.

Yes, you will receive a smart meter. Your electricity rates, however, will be determined by the terms and conditions of the contract you choose to sign.

No, tou rates and consumption data do not appear on the meter.

Your smart meter will show your current meter reading, just as your meter does now. You will, however, have access to your meter data, up to the previous day's data, via the Internet and/or by phone. The TOU rates periods and costs will also be on your bill for easy reference, along with your total consumption during each period over the billing period.

No.

Once your new smart meter is installed, you don't need to take any further specific steps for the meter to work.

Your smart meter will eliminate meter reading altogether. Your hourly usage information will be sent to your utility automatically via either a wireless or another communication method.

There will not be a specific smart meter line item on your bill.

The cost of the smart meter initiative will be recovered through the electricity distribution rates paid by all customers in the same way that costs for existing meters and services are recovered today. While there are costs associated with smart meter implementation, smart meters also offer efficiencies and cost savings which will be reflected in future consumer charges.

With regard to exposure to electromagnetic frequencies, the Ontario government in partnership with local electricity distributors, has taken significant efforts to ensure that smart meters will not only help households manage their electricity consumption, but are also safe and reliable.

The government has established a regulation to outline the minimum standards for the smart meter system also referred to as the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). In this regulation, requirements have been included to ensure safety laws are adhered to:

"...For greater certainty, the AMI shall meet all applicable Laws that are necessary for the measurement of data and/or the transmission of data to and from the consumers within the Province of Ontario, including Laws applicable to metering, safety and telecommunications."

As such, smart meters are well within the safety guidelines for exposure to radio frequencies established by Health Canada. These safety guidelines are outlined in Limits of Human Exposure to Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields in the Frequency Range from 3 KHZ to 300 GHZ, also known as Safety Code 6.

For more information about Safety Code 6, you may contact the Consumer and Clinical Radiation Protection Bureau, Health Canada, 775 Brookfield Road, Ottawa ON K1A 1C1, telephone (613) 954-6699.

If you have access to the Internet, Industry Canada has compiled answers to frequently asked questions about radio frequency fields, which you may view at the following link:

www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/smt-gst.nsf/en/sf08792e.html

TOU rates vary over the day-better reflecting the way electricity prices work in the electricity market.

Depending on our demand and the availability of supply, electricity market prices rise and fall over the day and tend to drop over night. That's why TOU rates vary-depending on the time of day, the day of week (week or weekend, and holidays) and the season (summer or winter).

With rates that vary, we'll all have an incentive to shift and/or reduce electricity consumption at times of peak demand. Here are the three TOU periods:

In Ontario, the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) is responsible for setting our electricity commodity prices-including time-of-use rates for smart meters. Here's what the current periods and rates look like: TOU Rates

The days considered "holidays"-and so days when off-peak rates apply-are for the most part statutory holidays when a majority of Ontarians are absent from work. That's because on those days demand for electricity is much lower than on a "normal" weekday. That is also why Easter Monday and Remembrance Day do not qualify for off-peak pricing. A list of holidays for 2011 is provided on the chart below.

Regulated Price Plan 2011 Holiday Schedule for Smart Meter (Time-of-Use) Prices
Holiday	Date	Actual Day	Day for RPP TOU Pricing
New Year's Day	January 1	Saturday	Monday
Family Day	February 21	Monday	Same
Good Friday	April 22	Friday	Same
Victoria Day	May 23	Monday	Same
Canada Day	July 1	Friday	Same
Civic Holiday	August 1	Monday	Same
Labour Day	September 5	Monday	Same
Thanksgiving Day	October 10	Monday	Same
Christmas Day	December 25	Sunday	Monday
Boxing Day	December 26	Monday	Tuesday

Your first FULL bill after June 1, 2011 will reflect the TOU rates.

Not automatically.

What time-of-use rates do is provide you with a new way to think about and manage electricity costs. Under TOU, there will be different rates for the electricity you use during the on-peak, mid-peak and off-peak hours. So, it will make sense to aim, for example, to schedule energy-intensive activities to the off-peaks (after 9 pm during the week, all weekends and on holidays).

That will depend, in part, on you.

Once you are billed on a time-of-use basis, depending how and when you use electricity, you may pay a bit more or less or see very little difference. With Smart Meters, those who work to conserve and shift their usage to off-peak, weekends or holidays may benefit the most. Currently those customers see no price advantage no matter what time of the day they use power.

It's true that, at first, you will need to be more aware of how and when you use energy, but over time, it will simply become a habit.

Smart metering will give you a tool and better information to help you make informed decisions about your electricity usage. With this information in hand, you will be able to develop the best strategies for you.

Time of use prices have not been designed to penalize consumers who for whatever reason have difficulty shifting consumption.

Testing and piloting under time-of-use pricing to date has shown that for most customers, if they do not change their consumption patterns, then they will pay about the same price for electricity that they did under the current tiered pricing model.

This is due in part to the fact that there are many more off-peak hours than there are on-peak in a given week (all hours of the weekend are off-peak). In the summer for instance, for every hour of the week that your fridge is running on-peak, there are more off-peak hours when you're paying significantly less than the current tiered rates.

Many businesses can also reduce their electricity bill through conservation and improved energy efficiency (Lakefront Utilities offers energy efficiency programs to help small businesses reduce electricity demand. Contact us to see if you qualify).

An independent central meter data repository is being developed to store and process the hourly consumer consumption data transmitted daily by each of Ontario's local distribution companies (LDCs). There are currently more than 90 LDCs in the province.

Once this system is in place and tested, you should be able to access your smart meter data. With access to your information on a secure Internet site, you will be able to make informed choices about how to take advantage of this information in order to impact your consumption and costs.

Yes.

Ontario's electricity distribution companies are required, by law, to ensure that the smart meters and communication networks that are put into place are equipped with security features to prevent unauthorized access. They must also comply with federal laws regarding the privacy, protection and disclosure of personal information. Any data that is sent to the central data repository will be provided in such a way as to prevent identification of any individual customer.

There are lots of simple things that we can do to save electricity and reduce electricity costs.

Your best strategy might combine some or all of the following:

1.	Shift some electricity use to off-peak periods. Under TOU rates, shifting activities that are energy-intensive to the lower rate mid-peak and off-peak hours will be to your advantage.
2.	Reduce electricity use across all periods of the day. Conservation always makes good sense. This includes activities like turning off lights and equipment that are not in use, and turning your air conditioner up a few degrees.
3.	Ensure you're not paying for nothing! Many electronic items - including, for example, computers, TVs and cell phone chargers - aren't fully off unless you pull the plug, so try to plug them into a power bar that you can turn off.
4.	Opt for energy-efficient products, wherever you can. ENERGY STAR appliances and compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) use less power, reducing both your electricity consumption and your costs.
5.	Take advantage of conservation promotions. Lakefront Utilities and the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) are creating programs that can help you conserve. Call us - or visit our Conservation page to find out more.

You are encouraged to take advantage of the new electricity consumption information that will be available to you via the internet when smart meters and the associated systems are in place, and to consider strategies-such as those listed above-that work for you.

When time-of-use rates are in place, your utility will also be able to provide you with access to your usage information, current to the previous day, on a secure web site, or, potentially, by telephone. Your electricity bill will also show your total electricity consumption in each pricing period (on-peak, mid-peak, and off-peak) over the billing period. Together, this will give you key information about when you're using the most electricity, and you will be able to see how your electricity usage patterns affect your bills.

Each utility decides when it is able to start switching its customers to time of use rates. This depends on when they think they have enough meters installed to offer time of use rates, and when they have sufficiently tested the meter reading and data systems to ensure accurate customer billing.

Ontario's electricity commodity rates are set by the Ontario Energy Board to be fair to customers using either TOU or the older two-tiered electricity prices.

Time of use rates will fully replace the two-tiered rate system that Ontario utilities have been using for their residential and small business customers.

Electricity retailers may offer other types of pricing plans to consumers. Some customers - particularly businesses, might also want to look into interval or hourly pricing options available through their utility.