Rate class and review process

As a business customer, your rate class will be reviewed at least once every calendar year to determine whether your account should be assigned to a different rate class depending on your average monthly electricity demand.

Read through to learn what a rate class is and how the review process works.

Understanding your rate class

Every customer is assigned a specific rate class, typically based on their electricity demand. You can find your rate class above the “Your Electricity Charges” section on your bill. Our interactive sample bills provide a visual reference of where the rate class is indicated on your bill.

Your rate class defines your Delivery Charge rates as well as which rebate and electricity price plan options may apply to you.

Understanding rate class reviews

In our review, we’ll determine if your average monthly demand falls outside the upper or lower limits associated with your current rate class. If this is the case, we’ll assign you a different rate class that reflects your actual monthly demand.

Once your new rate class is determined, it will take effect at least 30 days from the date you were notified of the change.

We conduct reviews according to the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) guidelines and section 2.5 of the Distribution System Code.

The Ontario Electricity Rebate (OER)

A change to your rate class may affect your OER eligibility. Your rate class may qualify you for the OER, either automatically or by completing and submitting the OER Eligibility Notice Form.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE OER

Rate class review process

There are two ways to have your rate class reviewed. We’ve outlined each process in the following sections.

Toronto Hydro’s review of your rate class

At least once per calendar year, we’ll review your rate class to determine whether a change is required based on your average monthly electricity demand. We do this to confirm you’re being billed under the correct rate class, which helps ensure that you have access to the appropriate price plans and rebates, such as the OER.

If we determine that a change is required, we’ll notify you within one billing cycle before the change to your rate class takes place. Typically, a customer’s rate class won’t be changed more than once a year.

How you can request a review

As a business customer, if you notice that your demand is less than what your current rate class reflects, you can request that we review your rate class at any point after five consecutive months of service. To make a request, you can contact us at billingspecialist@torontohydro.com or 416-542-8000 (press 6).

Requesting a rate reclassification may be most applicable for customers where there is potential to become eligible for the OER. For example, if you’re a customer in the General Service 50 - 999 kW rate class, you can contact us to request a review if you notice that your monthly average peak demand falls below 50 kW for five consecutive months.

Customer requests for a rate classification review will not be processed more than once per calendar year, subject to section 2.5.4 of the Distribution System Code.