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Premier Doug Ford's Ontario

I missed this on the weekend but it is intriguing Ontario politics news that a black member of NDP caucus has been ousted in a rare contested nomination battle.
The Ontario Liberals and PCs simply do not allow these contesting of nominations for sitting MPPs to even happen.



There's a lot to unpack in all that, notably that the riding association vote was among a very small number--less than 200 is claimed-- and swung wildly to his challenger Sandeep Singh who has no previous political experience.
 
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Ontario Advances Work on New Ultra-Low Overnight Electricity Rate

Report on new price plan projects significant bill savings for consumers

From link.

The Ontario government is advancing work to deliver a new optional ultra-low overnight Time-of-Use (TOU) electricity price plan, as part of its plan to provide consumers with more ways to keep costs down, save money, and take control of their energy bills. According to a report released today by Ontario’s independent energy regulator, the Ontario Energy Board (OEB), the new rate could save customers who switch up to $90 per year. At the same time the new rate will support electric vehicle (EV) adoption and the province’s growing EV manufacturing industry by decreasing overnight charging costs when province-wide electricity demand is lower.

“Our government has put families back in control of their energy bills and we will continue this work by delivering a third electricity price plan for customers across Ontario” said Todd Smith, Minister of Energy. “Introducing the ultra-low overnight electricity rate will help our efforts to make life more affordable for Ontario families by keeping costs down and saving them up to $90 per year while reducing EV charging costs and supporting the historic investments in our province’s rapidly expanding EV manufacturing sector.”

This report released today is the result of a request from Minister Smith, who asked the OEB to provide him with options to implement the new ultra-low overnight price plan. The OEB has proposed a new electricity pricing structure that would be presented as a third option to electricity customers, in addition to the existing TOU and Tiered plans.

If the proposed price plan was in place today, the OEB estimated that it could offer a new ultra-low overnight rate of approximately 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), which is 70 per cent lower than the current off-peak rate, in exchange for a higher on-peak rate. This would help consumers who use more electricity at night, such as EV users, find savings of up to five per cent on their bills, equivalent to savings of up to $90 per year.

“This initiative will help support the uptake of EVs in Ontario, by making it more affordable for drivers to charge up,” said Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation. “As we build Ontario’s transportation network for the future, we continue to invest in low-carbon travel options that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and get people to where they need to go.”

Delivery of a new ultra-low overnight rate is possible as Ontario continues to have excess electricity during overnight hours. Shifting electricity use to these hours would make better use of Ontario’s clean electricity supply when province-wide demand is lower, supporting decarbonization efforts and resulting in potential capacity cost savings for the electricity system of up to $5.7 million per year. Together this would increase grid efficiency and generate value for all Ontario ratepayers.

“Customers expect to be able to choose the electricity price plan that best fits their lifestyle, allows them to manage costs and incents their adoption of new energy technologies,” said Susanna Zagar, CEO of the OEB. “We are pleased that the insights we have gained through our analysis might enable more choice and empower Ontarians.”

The government will consider the OEB’s report along with stakeholder feedback received through the recent proposal on the Environmental Registry of Ontario and the OEB’s consultation held earlier this year, with the intent of making the new price plan available to customers by April 2023.

“New ultra-low overnight rates are further proof that our government is working to rebuild Ontario’s economy all while keeping costs down for families,” said David Piccini, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. “These changes will enable further EV adoption and provide relief for consumers and small businesses while utilizing the full capacity of Ontario’s clean energy grid, protecting the environment now and for future generations.”

Quick Facts​

  • The OEB has proposed a new optional ultra-low overnight TOU electricity price plan that would provide:
    • Ultra-low overnight rates: everyday 11 p.m.-7 a.m.
    • Mid-peak rates: weekdays 7 a.m.-4 p.m. and 9 p.m.-11 p.m.
    • On-peak rates: weekdays 4 p.m.-9 p.m.
    • Weekend off-peak rates: weekends and statutory holidays 7 a.m.-11 p.m.
  • Under the new price plan, the on-peak rate would be equal to approximately 10 times the ultra-low overnight rate, with the mid-peak rate approximately equal to the standard TOU mid-peak price, and the weekend off-peak price roughly equal to the standard TOU off-peak price.
  • The ultra-low overnight rate would be calculated as part of the OEB’s existing role in setting RPP rates, which is typically done every November 1.
  • The development of a new optional ultra-low overnight electricity price plan supports objectives in the government’s Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan and Driving Prosperity automotive sector strategy.
  • As of November 1, 2020, most families, small businesses, and farms have a choice between electricity rate plans: a Time-of-Use or Tiered rate plan.
Instead of 5 PM being the time of rate change, it'll be 4 PM. Instead of ending at 7 PM, it'll be 9 PM. Looks like the highest rates will be weekdays between 4 PM and 9 PM.

Turn on your electric dryers after 11 PM. Charge your electric vehicles between 11 PM and 7 AM.
 
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I think people could choose to remain on the current TOU arrangement if they prefer, much like people can choose the non-TOU tiered pricing model. I suspect only EV drivers would benefit from the new super-off peak model.
 
I think people could choose to remain on the current TOU arrangement if they prefer, much like people can choose the non-TOU tiered pricing model. I suspect only EV drivers would benefit from the new super-off peak model.
There is a "bill calculator" that will...

Compare Time-of-Use to Tiered pricing

Go to link. It will compare electricity price plans.

USING THE CALCULATOR
  • Get your utility bill, or several months of bills. To use the calculator most effectively, you’ll want to know how much electricity you use and when you use it. You can find this information on the Electricity line of your bills, your utility may provide your data when you access your account online, or contact your utility for more detailed information about your electricity use.
  • Remember, your monthly use and usage pattern may be different in the winter season than it is in the summer season. Keep in mind the effect of COVID-19 on your electricity use (for instance, you may be working from home when you normally wouldn’t be).
 
I would rather if Ontario just applied the lowest pricing scheme of the various rate schemes rather than making consumers use a calculator and decide. The ultimate goal is to encourage off-peak use, right?
 
Tiered saves me an estimated whopping $20/year
Best to bookmark the link to the Time-of-use Tiered pricing calculator. Should do a recalculation should they implement the ultra-low overnight rates. Hopefully, we can go back and forth each month should we get different results than expected.
 
I don't yet have an EV, and I'm asleep in the wee hours, so I won't be staying up to do laundry to take advantage of "ultra-low" rates.
Yup... what she says, plus I no longer have a car, thus not getting a sticker refund nor do I make use of the toll highways. Buying votes, the grand scale legit way after he got caught handing out $20 bills at the Ontario Housing building.
 
I think it was about a year ago I switched to tiered billing. I plugged a year's worth of consumption into Hydro's calculator and it projected a few hundred dollars saving per year. I haven't done a follow-up yet.

I suppose if you EV allows setting charge time, and most dishwashers have delay settings these days, you could save some more coin, but I'll be damned if I'm staying up until midnight to do laundry or, I don't know, pre-cook dinner for the next day.
 
Those who are going to truly take advantage these new Hydro rates are those with money.

Right now, home batteries like Tesla's PowerWall are a good way to increase power stability. They aren't just for those with solar arrays on their roof. If you're rural or in an area with terrible power, they can be a lifesaver. They act like giant versions of Uninterruptible Power Supplies used for computers. They condition incoming power, and store a backup reserve. But some can also be used as primary power sources if you load shift from power stored during off-peak hours to peak hours. Meaning, running during peak hours on power paid for when it's cheapest. Inevitably, a system like Ford's massively incentivizes those with the $20k+ to burn to go out and buy a PowerWall. At a rate 1/10th of peak, the savings go a long way to paying for it.
 
I think it was about a year ago I switched to tiered billing. I plugged a year's worth of consumption into Hydro's calculator and it projected a few hundred dollars saving per year. I haven't done a follow-up yet.

I suppose if you EV allows setting charge time, and most dishwashers have delay settings these days, you could save some more coin, but I'll be damned if I'm staying up until midnight to do laundry or, I don't know, pre-cook dinner for the next day.
I would just start the dryer after 11 PM and let it run. Leave the dried laundry in the dryer and take it out in the morning.

Then we could switch to natural gas dryers as an alternative. No time-of-use with natural gas. Is there a calculator for that comparison?
 
The only other thing I think could conceivably benefit from super-off peak rates is if you had a heating set-up that used electricity and could bank heat overnight. Maybe something like a high capacity air source heat pump water heater. It could run continuously during the offpeak time to store heat and draw on that for home heating during the day. Obvious downside is that it is colder at night which worsens heat pump efficiency, but that is more than offset by only paying 2.5 cents per kwh. Of course, I'm not aware of any commercially available off the shelf system that would do this. You might be able to engineer something however.
 

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