Ontario’s November 2026 Electricity Rates: Recalculate Your EV Charging Schedule

Information checked October 30, 2026. Prices below take effect November 1, 2026 and are electricity charges, not total delivered charging costs.

Ontario EV owners have a reason to revisit their charging timers this weekend. On October 16, the Ontario Energy Board announced new Regulated Price Plan prices effective November 1, alongside the winter Time-of-Use schedule. The electricity prices decrease year over year, but the Ontario Electricity Rebate also changes to 15.7%. A lower per-kWh headline therefore does not, by itself, establish how your complete bill will change. OEB’s October announcement

The prices that matter for overnight charging

From November 1, Time-of-Use off-peak electricity costs 9.1 cents/kWh, covering weekdays from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. and all day on weekends and holidays. On the Ultra-Low Overnight plan, the overnight period is 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. every day at 3.7 cents/kWh. ULO’s tradeoff is a much higher 37.7-cent/kWh weekday on-peak price from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. OEB rate tables and hours

That distinction matters if you plug in at 6 p.m. A car that starts immediately could be charging in ULO’s most expensive period, even though its owner selected that plan for cheap nights. Check the schedule actually controlling the car or charger, not just the plan name on the utility bill.

A 300-kWh example, with the limits made clear

Suppose your meter records 300 kWh of charging over a month, all within the relevant cheapest period. Multiplying by the published prices gives:

• TOU off-peak: 300 × $0.091 = $27.30.
• ULO overnight: 300 × $0.037 = $11.10.
• Difference: $16.20 in electricity charges.

This is our arithmetic illustration, not a promised bill saving. It excludes delivery, regulatory charges, taxes, rebates and any other applicable bill components. It assumes electricity measured at the meter; using a battery’s nominal capacity instead would not measure the same thing.

The whole home changes plans, not just the car

An EV may favour overnight prices while the rest of the household does not. For a simple winter illustration, 100 kWh used between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays would cost $37.70 under ULO versus $9.10 under TOU: a $28.60 difference in electricity charges. That single usage block would outweigh the $16.20 charging benefit above. These are deliberately simplified comparisons, not estimates for a typical household.

Heating, cooking, laundry and work schedules are therefore part of an EV charging decision. Hydro One describes ULO as a plan for customers able to shift consumption into the night and directs customers to compare plans using their own usage. Hydro One’s pricing explanation

Confirm that you can switch

OEB price-plan choice applies to qualifying residential and small-business customers with smart meters billed under its Regulated Price Plan. Some meters cannot support time-based billing. Individually sub-metered apartment or condominium residents cannot independently change the building’s price plan, and energy-retailer contracts have their own pricing arrangements. Ask the party issuing your electricity bill before changing assumptions in your vehicle budget. OEB customer-choice rules

A charging service in a condominium garage may also bill you separately from your home electricity account. Check that service’s contract rather than assuming the OEB overnight price is the amount you personally pay per charging session.

A useful November reset

Collect recent bills and interval usage, compare the entire household under the available plans, then check your charger’s timer and the car’s departure settings. Make sure the charging window provides enough time for the energy you need; do not set a schedule solely because it produces the smallest theoretical number.

If you elect to change plans, confirm the effective billing period with your utility. Submitting a form does not mean the new tariff applies that evening. After the switch, check the first bill and a few charging sessions against your assumptions. The practical goal is an arrangement that reliably charges the vehicle and lowers your actual household cost, not merely access to the lowest advertised rate.