We ran the Ontario Energy Board’s new prices through five hypothetical households to show when Time-of-Use, Ultra-Low Overnight or Tiered comes out ahead this winter.

The short answer

For a typical Ontario household using less than 1,000 kWh a month this winter, Tiered is the cheapest plan. It charges a flat 11.2 cents per kWh, while the OEB’s own typical Time-of-Use pattern works out to about 11.85 cents. Ultra-Low Overnight only wins if you shift a lot of use to 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., which in practice means charging an electric vehicle overnight and keeping weekday evenings light.

Time-of-Use still beats Tiered if more than about 72% of your electricity is used off-peak. You can switch plans at any time, so the choice is not permanent.

The new prices, from November 1, 2026

The OEB announced the prices on October 16, 2026. They apply to households on the Regulated Price Plan, which means homes that buy electricity from their local utility rather than through a retailer contract. Every price is lower than last year. Off-peak, for example, falls from 9.8 to 9.1 cents.

Source: Ontario Energy Board. Ultra-Low Overnight hours are the same all year. Time-of-Use mid-peak and on-peak hours swap in summer.

These are only the electricity line on your bill. Delivery and regulatory charges are the same whichever plan you choose, so they do not affect the comparison.

Why Tiered usually wins this winter

The OEB sets prices using an assumed usage pattern for a typical Time-of-Use customer: 64% off-peak, 18% mid-peak and 18% on-peak, according to its November 2026 price report. At the new prices, that averages 11.854 cents per kWh. Tiered charges 11.2 cents for the first 1,000 kWh.

For a home using 700 kWh a month, that is $82.98 on Time-of-Use and $78.40 on Tiered, a difference of about $4.58 a month before the rebate and HST. That adds up to about $27 over the six winter months.

The break-even is simple. If the rest of your use is split evenly between mid-peak and on-peak, Time-of-Use only beats Tiered when more than about 72.5% of your electricity is used off-peak. The OEB says a typical household is closer to two-thirds.

Summer is closer. The Tier 1 threshold drops to 600 kWh from May 1, so 700 kWh averages about 11.49 cents on Tiered. That is still below the typical Time-of-Use average, but the gap narrows, and heavier users lose the advantage sooner.

The catch with Ultra-Low Overnight

ULO is built around one trade. The overnight price of 3.7 cents is 5.4 cents cheaper than Time-of-Use off-peak. The weekday 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. price of 37.7 cents is far higher than what those same hours cost on Time-of-Use.

On Time-of-Use in winter, those five hours mix mid-peak, on-peak and off-peak prices. If your use is spread evenly across them, they average 14.12 cents. On ULO the same hours cost 37.7 cents, a penalty of 23.58 cents per kWh.

Divide that penalty by the 5.4-cent overnight saving and you get about 4.4. For every kWh you use on a weekday between 4 and 9 p.m., you need about 4.4 kWh overnight just to break even. In summer the ratio is about 4.5.

Five households, worked out

These are hypothetical winter months. Each household’s use is spread evenly across the hours inside each ULO period. Costs are the electricity line only, before the rebate and HST.

Hypothetical examples. EV charging is 300 kWh a month, all done overnight. Full assumptions are in the method note below.

A few things stand out.

• Tiered wins for A and B. Both stay under 1,000 kWh, so every kWh costs 11.2 cents.
• An EV alone does not make ULO worth it. Household C adds 300 kWh of overnight charging and still pays $4.37 more on ULO than on Time-of-Use. With A’s evening habits, it would need about 381 kWh of overnight charging a month just to break even.
• ULO wins when evenings are light too. Household D charges the same EV but keeps weekday 4 to 9 p.m. use to 8% of home use. It saves $19.29 a month against Time-of-Use and $24.75 against Tiered.
• Big winter users lean back to Time-of-Use. Household E goes well past the 1,000 kWh threshold, so 800 kWh are charged at 13.2 cents on Tiered. Time-of-Use comes out about $9.69 a month cheaper. If electric heat drives your bill, cutting use may save more than any plan switch; see our heat pump rebate guide.

How to switch

You switch through your local utility, not the OEB. The OEB’s price plan guide says the change takes effect at the start of a billing period. If your utility receives the form at least 10 business days before the next period, it must switch you then. Otherwise it may wait one more period.

You are not locked in. The OEB says you can switch between plans at any time, and switch back the same way. Toronto Hydro, for example, takes requests through its online portal and asks customers to allow up to 10 business days.

Two limits apply. Homes with a conventional meter are billed on Tiered prices. And if you signed a contract with an electricity retailer, the OEB’s plan choices do not apply to you.

The rebate does not change the winner

The Ontario Electricity Rebate drops to 15.7% on November 1, 2026, from 23.5% over the past year. The OEB says the rebate will cut a typical 700 kWh bill by about $23 a month. Because it is a percentage of the bill, it lowers every plan by the same share, so the cheapest plan stays the cheapest.

Frequently asked questions

• Sources, checked October 22, 2026: Ontario Energy Board: news release on prices effective November 1, 2026 (October 16, 2026); Ontario Energy Board: electricity rates; Ontario Energy Board: RPP Price Report, November 1, 2026 to October 31, 2027; Ontario Energy Board: choosing your electricity price plan; Hydro One: electricity pricing and costs (prices and rebate for November 1, 2025 to October 31, 2026); Toronto Hydro: choose your electricity price plan.
• Method: Typical Time-of-Use average = 0.64 × 9.1 + 0.18 × 14.6 + 0.18 × 18.9 cents, using the OEB’s assumed load profile. Household costs use a 30-day month with 22 weekdays and 8 weekend days. Use within each ULO period is spread evenly by hour and mapped to winter Time-of-Use prices. Household shares (overnight, weekend daytime, weekday mid-peak, weekday 4 to 9 p.m.): A 30/22/28/20, B 28/20/37/15, D home use 40/22/30/8, E 35/22/28/15. Calculated by script and re-checked with an hour-by-hour simulation. Figures exclude delivery, regulatory charges, the rebate and HST.

Important: This guide is general information, not financial advice. Prices are set by the Ontario Energy Board and can change; your own savings depend on when you use electricity. Gizly is not paid by any utility, and this page has no affiliate links. See our affiliate disclosure.