New pricing option introduced for Burlington Hydro customers

Burlington Hydro has introduced a new pricing option for both residential and small business customers.

The new Ultra-Low Overnight (ULO) plan encourages shifting high electricity usage activities to lower-demand overnight periods.

“For example, customers with an electric vehicle can choose to charge their vehicle during the Ultra-Low Overnight period to capitalize on the time of day when electricity prices are lowest,” according to Burlington Hydro.

There are four ULO 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. The ULO price periods are the same in the summer as they are in the winter.

To switch price plans, you must notify Burlington Hydro. There is no deadline and you can ask to switch at any time. If you want to stay with your current price plan no action is required. If you are unsure what price plan you are currently on, check the electricity line of your bill.

Most residential and small business customers in Ontario pay Time-of-Use (TOU) pricing prices.

With the TOU price plan, the price depends on when you use electricity. There are three TOU price periods:

• Off-peak, when demand for electricity is generally lower. This price applies in the evenings on weekdays and all day on weekends. Every household and small business is different, but on average, Ontario households use nearly two-thirds of their electricity during off-peak hours.
• Mid-peak, when demand for electricity is moderate. These periods are during the daytime, but not the busiest times of day.
• On-peak, when demand for electricity is generally higher. These are the busier times of day – generally when people are cooking, starting up their computers and running heaters or air conditioners.

The third option available to customers is Tiered Pricing where 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.

Introduced by the Ontario government earlier this year, ULO plans must be introduced by all public utilities by November,