Toronto Hydro Reminds Customers to Enjoy the Holidays Off-Peak!

TORONTO, Dec. 21 /CNW/ - As snow begins to blanket the city, Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited ("Toronto Hydro") is reminding its Time-of-Use customers that electricity prices on certain days during the holidays are OFF-PEAK-- the lowest electricity price - all day.

The following dates are designated OFF-PEAK periods: 

• Saturday, December 25
• Sunday, December 26
• Monday, December 27
• Tuesday, December 28
• Saturday, January 1
• Sunday, January 2
• Monday, January 3

Time-of-Use rates are designed to encourage customers to shift their electricity use to off-peak times; this helps reduce strain on the grid when electricity consumption is at its highest peak.

Toronto Hydro customers interested in learning more about their kilowatt consumption, can log onto Toronto Hydro's TOU website (www.torontohydro.com/tou) to view electricity usage on an hourly, daily and weekly basis. The data is updated as recently as the day before. Logging on and viewing usage data allows customers to become aware of when and how much electricity they are using and may help them manage their overall household electricity bill.

Although the holidays will end in a few weeks, winter is here to stay.  Follow these simple energy saving tips to conserve this winter season:

• Keep all your exterior doors tightly shut and try to avoid frequent in-and-out traffic. Padded door runners help reduce drafts under doorways.
• Lower your thermostat by one degree to save as much as three per cent of the energy your furnace uses during the winter months. For the average electrically heated detached house built before 1990, that could be a savings of approximately $73.39* per year.
• Keep the draperies and shades on your south-facing windows open during sunny days to allow the sunlight to enter and heat your home. Keep them closed at night to reduce the chill you may feel around cold windows.
• Wrap your windows with plastic. Twenty-five per cent of a home's heat is lost through windows and this low-cost option can reduce this loss by 50 per cent**.
• Adjust your thermostat. Recommended thermostat settings for a comfortable environment during the winter months are:
• 21°C (70°F) when you are home relaxing
• 18°C (64.5°F) when you are sleeping, and
• 15°C (59°F) when you are away from your home for an extended period of time.

For more ideas on how to conserve electricity and save money (available in six languages), visit our website at torontohydro.com.

About Toronto Hydro

The Corporation is a holding company which through its wholly-owned subsidiaries:

• Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited ("LDC") — distributes electricity and engages in Conservation and Demand Management activities; and
• Toronto Hydro Energy Services Inc. ("TH Energy") — provides street lighting services.

The principal business of the Corporation is the distribution of electricity by LDC.  LDC owns and operates an electricity distribution system that delivers electricity to approximately 697,000 customers located in the City of Toronto.

Sources:

*Office of Energy Efficiency - Natural Resources Canada.
** Source: City of Toronto.

For further information:

Denise Attallah, Toronto Hydro, [email protected], W: 416.542.2636, C: 416.902.9437