Electric Vehicle Charging (EVC) rate

Supporting the growth of commercial EV charging infrastructure.

If you own or operate a commercial electric vehicle (EV) charging station, you may be eligible for the new Electric Vehicle Charging (EVC) rate, available January 1, 2026.

The EVC rate is developed by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) for qualifying EV charging stations in Ontario. It’s designed to better reflect the cost of transmitting electricity to EV charging stations that operate with low load factors — meaning they use electricity in short, high-powered intervals rather than continuously. With this rate, participating EV charging stations pay a reduced amount for transmission costs — the portion of the electricity bill that covers the cost of moving electricity across the transmission system.

Transmission Charges can be found under the Delivery section of your bill.

Eligibility criteria

To qualify for the EVC rate, EV charging stations must meet all of the following criteria:

  • At least one Direct Current Fast Charger (DCFC) is installed
  • At least 90% of the charging station’s total monthly peak demand must be for EV charging
  • Monthly peak demand must be between 50 kW and 4,999 kW
  • Annual load factor must be 20% or less
  • EV charging stations must not be primarily used by commercial and/or public sector EV fleets
  • Distributed Energy Resource (DER) capacity may not exceed the total peak demand of the participating charging station

How to register

Eligible customers can register for the EVC rate at any time. The fastest way is online using our self-serve portal.

Don't have an online account? Register for access to our self-serve portal.

If you're unable to register for the EVC rate online, you can complete and submit the EVC Rate Registration Form (PDF, 681 KB). Once complete, please submit it to us according to the instructions on the form.

Frequently asked questions

A "customer" refers to the owner or operator of an EV charging station that is connected to, or will be connected to, Toronto Hydro’s distribution system. A customer is not the end user of the EV charging service, such as the driver of a vehicle that uses the EV charging station.

The EVC rate reduces the transmission costs that participating EV charging stations would otherwise pay. Eligible customers will pay 17% of the transmission costs typically charged to customers in the General Service 50 kW to 4,999 kW class. For example, if a customer’s base transmission cost are $100/kW, they would instead pay $17/kW under the EVC rate.

The EVC rate ensures that the Transmission Charges paid by eligible EV charging stations more accurately reflect the cost of delivering electricity through Ontario’s transmission system.

No. Home-based EV chargers aren’t eligible for the EVC rate. By adjusting transmission costs, the EVC rate helps make it more feasible to expand public EV charging infrastructure in more communities.

The list of charging stations that may participate in the EVC rate include those that are located on or near:

  • Highways
  • The site of a retail establishment, plaza or shopping centre
  • The site of a municipal, university, school or hospital building
  • A site associated with a multi-unit residential building, such as a condominium
  • Employee parking lots

More information about the EVC rate can be found on the OEB's Electric Vehicle Integration web page.