Residential electricity rates

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the Government of Ontario introduced the COVID-19 Recovery Rate. As a result, from June 1 to October 31, 2020, residential customers on TOU pricing will pay the fixed rate of 12.8 ¢/kWh no matter what time of day the electricity is consumed.

The 12.8 ¢/kWh pricing applies automatically – no customer action is required. For more information, visit the OEB website.

The rates quoted above cover the cost of electricity purchased on your behalf. Toronto Hydro passes this cost through to you, without mark-up, and pays it directly to our suppliers.

View the TOU holiday schedule

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the Government of Ontario issued an Emergency Order under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. As a result, from May 1, 2020, customers on tiered pricing will see no change relative to the RPP prices and tier threshold. The price threshold will temporarily remain at 1,000 kWhs per 30 days.

If you’re on Regulated Price Plan Tiered Pricing, your consumption in kWhs is separated into two price tiers under the government’s Regulated Price Plan. Customers will be charged one rate for the first 1,000 kWhs of use per 30 days, while electricity consumed in excess of this threshold will be priced at a different rate.

The price threshold (the amount of electricity consumption that is charged at the lower price) will typically change twice a year for residential consumers. The price threshold will be 1,000 kWhs per 30 days during the winter season (November 1 to April 30) and 600 kWhs during the summer season (May 1 to October 31). This allows you to use more electricity at a lower price in the winter. For additional information, visit the Ontario Energy Board website.

The rates quoted above cover the cost of electricity purchased on your behalf. Toronto Hydro passes this cost through to you, without mark-up, and pays it directly to our suppliers.

You may choose to purchase your electricity by entering a contract with a licensed electricity retailer. Your contract specifies a fixed electricity price for a set number of years. Please note that the fixed price is not regulated by the Ontario Energy Board.

Read more information on electricity retailers

Toronto Hydro received authorization from the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) to implement changes to its Delivery Charge, effective March 1, 2020.

Learn more about the rates change

The Delivery Charge covers the cost of delivering electricity from the generator to Toronto Hydro, and then to your home or business. This includes the costs to build and maintain the transmission and distribution lines, towers and poles and to operate provincial and local electricity systems. Some of these charges are fixed and do not change from month-to-month. Others are variable and increase or decrease depending on the amount of electricity that you use. Toronto Hydro's portion of the Delivery Charge is the Distribution Charge.

The Delivery Charge also includes the cost of electricity lost or consumed as heat through distributing electricity from equipment such as wires and transformers, before it gets to your home. Toronto Hydro collects and pays this money to its suppliers. Costs collected for transmission and operating the provincial grid are passed on, without mark-up, to Hydro One.

Transmission Charge

This charge covers the costs involved to transmit electricity from generators to the city. Toronto Hydro passes this cost through to you, without mark-up. The increase in the Transmission Charge, by 0.144¢ per kWh, reflects the cost of transmission services provided by Hydro One to Toronto Hydro.

Charge: 1.643¢ per kWh

Customer Charge

The Customer Charge covers, together with the Distribution Charge, the costs Toronto Hydro incurs to deliver electricity to your home, building and maintaining the distribution system, administration, and billing.

Charge: $38.34 per 30 days

Rate Rider for Smart Metering Entity Charge

On March 1, 2018, the OEB-approved a decrease of the Smart Metering Entity (SME) Charge to be collected from customers effective April 1, 2018, on behalf of the SME. This charge recovers costs incurred by the SME to collect, manage, store and retrieve information related to the metering of these customers’ electricity usage in Ontario

Charge: $0.56 per 30 days

Rate Rider for Disposition of Other Post Employment Benefit Variance

This charge captures the variance between cash and accrual values related to Other Post Employment Benefit (OPEB).

Charge: $0.45 per 30 days

Rate Rider for Disposition of the Impact for USGAAP

This charge captures the impact of the change in the accounting for OPEB as a result of transition to IFRS from USGAAP accounting framework.

Charge: $0.41 per 30 days

Rate Rider for Recovery of Monthly Billing Transition Costs

This charge captures the incremental costs and savings resulting from the mandatory transition to monthly billing for residential and GS<50 kW class customers.

Charge: $0.48 per 30 days

Rate Rider for Recovery of 2020 Foregone Revenue

The credit (refund) reflects the OEB approved costs to operate Toronto Hydro's distribution system during interim rates for January and February 2020.

Credit: $0.26 per 30 days

Rate Rider for Application of Operations Center Consolidation Plan

The credit (refund) to the customers is for net gain on the sale of surplus properties.

Credit: $2.13 per 30 days

Rate Rider for Disposition of the Gain on Property Sale

The credit (refund) to the customers is for net gain on the sale of surplus property.

Credit: $0.34 per 30 days

Rate Rider for Disposition of IFRS - CGAPP Property Plant and Equipment

This credit (refund) to customers is for the USGAAP to IFRS transitional cost.

Credit: $0.10 per 30 days

Rate Rider for Disposition of External Driven Capital Variance Account

This credit (refund) charge balance reflects the variance between approved versus actual capital related revenue requirement for externally driven capital.

Credit: $0.20 per 30 days

Rate Rider for Disposition of Deferral/Variance Accounts

The charge reflects the clearance of residual balances for accounts relating to variances for a number of energy-related pass-through costs.

Charge: 0.033¢ per kWh

Rate Rider for Disposition of Capacity Based Recovery Account

The credit (refund) recovers the difference between the cost of CBR program in the wholesale energy market and CBR amounts billed to Class B customers

Credit: 0.002¢ per kWh

Rate Rider for Disposition of Global Adjustment Account

This credit (refund) reflects the variance between Global Adjustment paid to the IESO and collected from customers. This Rate Rider only applies to customers who are not on the Regulated Price Plan (Non-RPP), enrolled with a retailer contract.

Credit: 0.159¢ per kWh

Toronto Hydro received authorization from the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) to implement changes to its Delivery Charge effective March 1, 2020.

Learn more about the rates change

The Delivery Charge covers the cost of delivering electricity from the generator to Toronto Hydro, and then to your home or business. This includes the costs to build and maintain the transmission and distribution lines, towers and poles and to operate provincial and local electricity systems. Some of these charges are fixed and do not change from month-to-month. Others are variable and increase or decrease depending on the amount of electricity that you use. Toronto Hydro's portion of the Delivery Charge is the Distribution Charge.

The Delivery Charge also includes the cost of electricity lost or consumed as heat through distributing electricity from equipment such as wires and transformers, before it gets to your home. Toronto Hydro collects and pays this money to its suppliers. Costs collected for transmission and operating the provincial grid are passed on, without mark-up, to Hydro One.

Transmission Charge

This charge covers the costs involved to transmit electricity from generators to the city. Toronto Hydro passes this cost through to you, without mark-up. The increase in the Transmission Charge by 0.144¢ per kWh reflects the cost of transmission services provided by Hydro One to Toronto Hydro.

Charge: 1.643¢ per kWh

Customer Charge

The Customer Charge, together with the Distribution Charge, covers the costs Toronto Hydro incurs to deliver electricity to your home, building and maintaining the distribution system, administration, and billing.

Charge: $31.46 per 30 days

Rate Rider for Smart Metering Entity Charge Rate Rider

On March 1, 2018 the OEB-approved a decrease of Smart Metering Entity Charge to be collected from Residential and General Service < 50 kW customers effective April 1, 2018, on behalf of the Smart Meter Entity (SME). This charge recovers costs incurred by the SME to collect, manage, store and retrieve information related to the metering of these customers’ electricity usage in Ontario.

Charge: $0.56 per 30 days

Rate Rider for Disposition of Other Post Employment Benefit Variance

This charge captures the variance between cash and accrual values related to Other Post Employment Benefit (OPEB).

Charge: $0.30 per 30 days

Rate Rider for Disposition of the Impact for USGAAP

This charge captures the impact of the change in the accounting for OPEB as a result of transition to IFRS from USGAAP accounting framework.

Charge: $0.27 per 30 days

Rate Rider for Application of Operations Center Consolidation Plan

The credit (refund) to the customers is for net gain on the sale of surplus properties.

Credit: $1.43 per 30 days

Rate Rider for Disposition of the Gain on Property Sale

The credit (refund) to the customers is for net gain on the sale of surplus property.

Credit: $0.23 per 30 days

Rate Rider for Disposition of IFRS - CGAPP Property Plant and Equipment

This credit (refund) to customers is for the USGAAP to IFRS transitional cost.

Credit: $0.07 per 30 days

Rate Rider for Disposition of External Driven Capital Variance Account

This credit (refund) charge balance reflects the variance between approved versus actual capital related revenue requirement for externally driven capital.

Credit: $0.14 per 30 days

Rate Rider for Recovery of 2020 Foregone Revenue

The credit (refund) reflects the OEB approved costs to operate Toronto Hydro's distribution system during interim rates for January and February 2020.

Credit: $0.15 per 30 days

Rate Rider for Disposition of Deferral/Variance Accounts

The charge reflects the clearance of residual balances for accounts relating to variances for a number of energy-related pass-through costs.

Charge: 0.025¢ per kWh

Rate Rider for Disposition of Capacity Based Recovery Account

The credit (refund) recovers the difference between the cost of CBR program in the wholesale energy market and CBR amounts billed to Class B customers.

Credit: 0.002¢ per kWh

Rate Rider for Disposition of Global Adjustment Account

This credit (refund) reflects the variance between Global Adjustment paid to the IESO and collected from customers. This Rate Rider only applies to customers who are not on the Regulated Price Plan (Non-RPP), enrolled with a retailer contract.

Credit: 0.159¢ per kWh

Wholesale Market Service Charge

This charge covers costs such as market regulation and the management of the system. Toronto Hydro collects this charge, without mark-up, on behalf of the Independent Electricity System Operator.

Charge: 0.39 ¢/kWh

Standard Supply Service – Administration Charge (if applicable)

This is an administration charge of $0.25 stated on a 30-day basis. If your billing period is different than 30 days, the RPP administration charge will be prorated accordingly. This is a service charge for customers who have not contracted with an electricity retailer for their energy supply.

Charge: $0.25 per 30 days

Other charges/credits may include miscellaneous adjustments to prior billed electricity amounts, or charges for other specific services. View a list of specific service charges that may be applied to your bill statement.

Effective July 1, 2010, Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) of 13% is applied to electricity bills. The implementation of HST is mandated by the Province of Ontario. For information on HST, please visit the Ontario Ministry of Revenue or call the HST hotline at 1‑800‑337‑7222.

Starting November 1, 2019, the previous 8% rebate and other built-in reductions are being replaced with the Ontario Electricity Rebate (OER) of 31.8%. The change was introduced by the Ontario government as an expanded rebate providing bill relief that will be applied to customer bills, largely offsetting the price changes on the electricity line.

The rebate will be applied to bills for most residential consumers, farms and many small businesses. For additional information, please visit the Government of Ontario website.

These charges are applied to current customers who have an unmetered electric water heater billed by Toronto Hydro on a flat rate basis. Toronto Hydro no longer offers this flat rate billing option for new customers.

As of May 1, 2002, flat rate (unmetered) water heater energy usage is billed on an estimated average daily kWh basis. Your estimated usage is determined by the size of your water heater, the wattage of the water heater electric elements and on the number of days in the billing period. If you have an unmetered electric water heater, you're being billed the higher tiered rate of the Regulated Price Plan.

If you have any questions, please contact us through our online form or speak with one of our Customer Care representatives at 416‑542‑8000, Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.