Ontario Energy Minister, Todd Smith - Acadia Broadcasting File Photo

A new lower hydro rate is coming to Time-of-Use electricity users in Ontario.

The Ultra-Low price will be 2.4 cents per kilowatt hour, 67 per cent lower than the current off-peak rate.

Energy Minister Todd Smith says it will be offered by selected hydro companies on May 1, including Sioux Lookout Hydro.

The ultra-low overnight price plan could put up to $90 back in the pockets of these customers over the course of a year while at the same time providing potential capacity cost savings for the electricity system of up to $5.7 million per year, savings that would reduce bills for all Ontario ratepayers,” Smith.

Those who opt for the new Ultra-Low price plan will see the lower rate kick in at 11 p.m. and end at 7 a.m.

All rates are set by the Ontario Energy Board and change each fall and spring.

The mid-peak rate, which normally starts at 11 a.m., would start at 7 a.m. and go to 4 p.m. and again from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The off-peak rate shifts to the 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. time period and increases from 15.1 cents per kilowatt hour to 24 cents per kilowatt hour.

Weekend and holiday off-peak rates will stay at the current 7.4 cents per kilowatt hour.

All rates are set by the Ontario Enery Board and change each fall and spring.

“This ultra-low rate, which is offered alongside a higher on-peak rate, is possible because when customers shift their electricity use to overnight periods, such as a homeowner who chooses to charge their electric vehicle overnight, a family that electrically heats their home or a shift worker who isn’t home during normal peak hours, we can make better use of excess electricity that previous governments sold at a loss.”

Smith says all hydro companies must be in a position to offer the ultra-low rate by November 1.