The Ontario Energy Board announced on Oct. 16, 2026 that winter time-of-use rates would take effect Nov. 1, with the change reported Nov. 1 and 2, and the Ontario Electricity Rebate fell the same day from 23.5% to 15.7%. One change moved the rate structure, the other shrank the offset applied to the bill, so what an operation actually pays now depends more than before on when it uses power.
That is a scheduling story. Time-of-use pricing rewards work that can move and penalizes work that cannot, and most shops, plants, offices and farms have more movable load than they assume: charging, heating, cooling, compressed air, pumping, batch processes and cleaning cycles that run at a set hour out of habit rather than necessity.
You cannot negotiate the rate card. You can negotiate with your own schedule.
Load shifting starts with a simple inventory: list the big electrical loads, mark which ones are time-flexible, and move the flexible ones out of the most expensive hours first. Tying that review to real usage data is part of the operational intelligence services KSPACE TECHNOLOGIES provides to Ontario operations.
The smaller rebate raises the stakes on getting this right. A share of the bill that used to be softened automatically now has to be managed deliberately, month after month, through the winter rate period.
This week, pull one recurring load out of peak hours and measure the difference on the next bill. One proven shift makes the case for reviewing the rest of the schedule.