One of the many benefits of upgrading to smart meters is our ability to launch new and innovative solutions that provide customers with more control over their energy use and costs. Our new Time-of-Use and Critical Peak rate plans provide an opportunity for you to save money on your power bill by shifting some of your energy use to different times of day.
Recruitment for the pilot program is now closed, but we're accepting applications to be added to the waitlist. Use the application form below to join the waitlist.
Through this pilot program, we are looking to examine how shifts in the time of day that energy is used can benefit both customers and the electrical grid. These plans provide opportunities for customers to save money on their power bill by reducing or shifting their energy use from peak hours when demand is high for electricity, to off-peak hours when demand is low.
Pilot Details
Savings: Save money by shifting your energy use to different times of day.
Control: Control your costs by choosing when and how you use electricity.
Choice: You pick the rate plan that best suits your energy needs and lifestyle.
Each of these new plans offer potential cost savings to customers who reduce or shift their energy use to off-peak hours.
On winter weekdays, when the electrical grid is at peak capacity, a “Critical Peak event” may be announced where prices are higher to reflect the higher cost of providing energy during those hours.
Critical Peak events:
This plan is designed for customers who can shift their energy use outside the four-hour Critical Peak events in the winter. A registered MyAccount is required to participate in this plan.
Winter weekdays (November to March) are divided into peak and off-peak hours. Rates are higher during peak hours when demand is high.
This plan is designed for customers who can reduce or shift their energy use outside the two daily peak periods from Monday to Friday in the winter.
Curious about the savings you might see annually on your power bill with these rate plans? Answer 4 easy questions about your home and energy use and our savings estimator will calculate your potential savings with both plans.
Peak hours are the times during the day when there is high demand for electricity. During the winter months (November 1 – March 31), this is between 7am and 11am and again between 5pm and 9pm on weekdays (weekends and holidays are always off-peak). Rates during these hours vary by plan.
Everyone’s energy use is different, but if you reduce or shift your energy use to off-peak hours, you have the potential to save money on this pilot. Visit Energy Conservation Tips on our website for tips on how you can reduce your usage or try our savings estimator.
Your bill is based on how much energy your household uses. If you cannot reduce or shift your energy to off-peak hours on winter weekdays between November and March, there is a chance your bill could increase. Your bills may increase in the winter, particularly on the Time-of-Use rate plan, which is offset with lower rates in the summer months.
Critical Peak events last four hours, and participants will be notified by email and/or SMS by 4pm the day prior, and directly before the event starts allowing time to adjust usage. The Critical Peak rate plan is designed for customers who can respond to the notification by shifting their usage as much as possible during the four-hour period. Up to a maximum of 22 peak events could be called between November and March (a maximum of 1% of the hours in a year) and can be only called on weekdays (weekends and holidays are excluded). Outside peak events, the price for energy the remaining 99% of the year is less than the current standard rate. A registered MyAccount is required to participate in this plan .
We encourage you to participate for the full year to experience potential savings on your bill, but you can switch back to the Residential Standard Plan at any time, without penalty. If you move during the pilot, participation at your current household will end and you are required to fill out a new application for your new home.
This voluntary pilot will run for two years from November 1, 2021 to October 31, 2023. We are approaching the final and second year of the pilot and accepting applications until November 10, 2022.
Applications to participate in the second and final year of this two-year pilot are due by November 10, 2022. To apply, complete the application form, and a member of our team will review and be in touch with next steps.
Yes. Your account data, including energy use information and savings, will be kept confidential. NS Power takes the privacy of its customers very seriously. For further information on the collection, use and disclosure of personal information, please see our Privacy Policy.
Recruitment for the pilot program is now closed. Applications for the waitlist are being accepted.
If you still have questions about the Time-of-Day Rate Pilot, please contact Customer Care at
