1001 Smart Cities
🇨🇦 Toronto

Toronto Hydro Smart Meters and Ontario's Time-of-Use Pricing

🤖 AI-generated summary · ◆ 1 sourced claim · 🔎 Last verified

This overview was generated with AI from the public sources listed below and checked against them before publication. It has not had a complete human fact-check — treat it as a starting point and follow the sources.

1 sourced claim on this page, none individually verified yet — turn on “Sources in the text” to see each one.

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The business case was written after installation began, and the Auditor General found it overstated the benefit: close to CAD 2 billion spent against an initial CAD 1 billion projection.

Outcome🔄 Ongoing
Evidence🔬 Peer-reviewed
what does this mean?The strongest source behind this entry is an independent peer-reviewed or academic study. It grades who did the looking — not how well the project went. All four grades →
Run byToronto Hydro-Electric System Limited (City of Toronto); prices and price plans set by the Ontario Energy Board
Scale🗺️ Regional
Cost≈CAD 1.9B province-wide (Ontario, to 2014); initially projected at ≈CAD 1B
FundingOntario electricity ratepayers, recovered through OEB-regulated distribution rates

Part of 1001 Smart Cities — 1,167 documented projects · 🏙️ 9 more in Toronto · 🔌 Smart grid & energy guide · ⚡ Energy projects

Ontario announced a smart meter for every home and small business in April 2004 and legislated it through the Energy Conservation Responsibility Act, 2006; Toronto Hydro, wholly owned by the City of Toronto, moved customers onto time-of-use rates from June 2009, and the province reached 4.8 million meters by 2014. Prices are set by the Ontario Energy Board, not the utility: time-of-use is the default plan, and customers may switch to tiered prices (since November 2020) or an ultra-low overnight plan (since 2023). Ontario's Auditor General reported in 2014 that the rollout had cost close to CAD 2 billion against an initial CAD 1 billion projection, and that the business case, written after installation began, overstated the benefit. Toronto Hydro began a five-year replacement of the first-generation meters in May 2024.

Live 📅 since 2004

📊 Impact

Auditor General of Ontario (2014): projected 15-year net benefits of ~CAD 600M were overstated by at least CAD 512M, leaving ~CAD 88M. A peer-reviewed Energy Policy study of 20,000+ Ontario households found demand fell 2.6% on-peak and 2.4% mid-peak after the switch to time-of-use billing.

🎓 Lesson

Installing the meters was the easy half. Ontario delivered a full-population rollout, then found the price signal too weak to move much load — on-peak still costs only about twice off-peak in Toronto in 2026 — and the business case arrived after the trucks had already rolled.

⚡ EnergySmart grid & energySensors & IoTOpen data

Sources

↗ Auditor General of Ontario — news release, 2014 Annual Report s.3.11Published 2014Release title, verified in the document metadata: 'Rollout of $1.9-billion Smart Metering Initiative Had Serious Shortcomings — Benefits Not Yet Realized'. This is the authority for the CAD 1.9B headline figure.
↗ Auditor General of Ontario — 2014 Annual Report, Section 3.11 Smart Metering InitiativePublished 2014Carries the audit findings: 'its projected net benefits of approximately $600 million over 15 years were significantly overstated by at least $512 million', which 'should have been reflected as only $88 million over 15 years', and that costs 'had reached almost $2 billion (compared to the initial projected cost of $1 billion)' as of May 2014. Text reached via the PDF's search index; the file does not render for automated extraction.
↗ Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Standing Committee on Public Accounts — Smart Metering InitiativePublished 27 May 2015Independent confirmation of scale and sequence: '4.8 million smart meters had been installed in homes and at small businesses' as of May 2014, and 'no cost-benefit analyses or business case studies were done before the government announced Smart Metering in April 2004'.
↗ Toronto Hydro — news release, 14 May 2009: 'They're Here: Toronto Hydro Shifts to TOU Rates'Operator source for the Toronto switchover: 'To date, more than 611,000 Toronto Hydro customers have smart meters'; first 10,000 customers moved to time-of-use rates in June 2009, the rest over the following 12 months. The 611,000 is a 2009 count, not a current one.
↗ Toronto Hydro — Choose your electricity price plan (Customer Choice)Published 1 May 2026Establishes time-of-use as the default: 'regardless of which plan you choose, your first bill will be charged on the Time-of-Use price plan.' Lists TOU, Tiered and Ultra-Low Overnight; the Ontario Energy Board sets all rates and thresholds.
Show 7 more sourcesShow fewer
↗ Ontario Energy Board — Choosing your electricity price planRegulator's own statement: 'The choice between TOU, ULO and Tiered prices is available to residential and small business customers that have smart meters and are billed under the OEB's RPP', and 'Most residential and small business customers in Ontario pay TOU prices.'
↗ Ontario Energy Board — Summer Hours and New Price Plan Coming May 1 (2023)Published 1 May 2023Dates the ultra-low overnight option: utilities could offer ULO from 1 May 2023 and 'By November 1, 2023, all utilities must offer ULO to their customers.'
↗ Toronto Hydro — Residential electricity rates (2026)Published 1 May 2026Current tariff, summer 2026: off-peak 9.8, mid-peak 15.7, on-peak 20.3 cents/kWh — an on-peak to off-peak ratio of about 2.1 to 1. Confirms 'The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) sets and approves all electricity rates.'
↗ University of Waterloo — study of Ontario time-of-use pricing (Golab, Rosenberg & Miller, Energy Policy)Published 30 May 2017 archived copyPeer-reviewed measurement: 'residential demand for electricity dropped just 2.6 per cent during on-peak periods and 2.4 per cent during mid-peak periods.' Based on 20,000+ households at one southwestern Ontario distributor, nine months before and after time-of-use began in November 2011 — Ontario-wide behaviour, not Toronto-specific.
↗ Toronto Hydro — Meter replacement programCurrency check: 'As of May 2024, we've begun a five-year project to replace residential and small business customer meters', swapping first-generation for next-generation meters as the originals approach end of life.
↗ Toronto Hydro — Green ButtonSupports the data-access claim: customers download their own consumption data (Download My Data) and can authorise third parties to receive it (Connect My Data), revocable from the self-serve portal.
↗ Toronto Hydro Corporation — Annual Information Form for the year ended 31 December 2025Published 25 February 2026Corporate source for ownership: Toronto Hydro Corporation is wholly owned by the City of Toronto, serving roughly 800,000 customers.

📅 How old is the evidence?

Two clocks, kept apart: when this entry’s sources were published, and what has happened to its record in the atlas. Documented span: since 2004. 8 of 12 sources carry a publication date, from 2014 to 1 May 2026.

When the sources were published

  1. Office of the Auditor General of Ontario · oversight bodyAuditor General of Ontario — news release, 2014 Annual Report s.3.11
  2. Office of the Auditor General of Ontario · oversight bodyAuditor General of Ontario — 2014 Annual Report, Section 3.11 Smart Metering Initiative
  3. Legislative Assembly of Ontario · regional governmentLegislative Assembly of Ontario, Standing Committee on Public Accounts — Smart Metering Initiative
  4. University of Waterloo · researchUniversity of Waterloo — study of Ontario time-of-use pricing (Golab, Rosenberg & Miller, Energy Policy)
  5. Ontario Energy Board · oversight bodyOntario Energy Board — Summer Hours and New Price Plan Coming May 1 (2023)
  6. Toronto Hydro · utilityToronto Hydro Corporation — Annual Information Form for the year ended 31 December 2025
  7. Toronto Hydro · utilityToronto Hydro — Choose your electricity price plan (Customer Choice)
  8. Toronto Hydro · utilityToronto Hydro — Residential electricity rates (2026)

Every source, with links ↑

What happened to this record

  1. Sources last read
  2. Entered the record

Every revision, permanent →

Show your work What this page rests on and what it can’t tell you · all 1 claims with their sources · the forensic record

Evidence Passport · public beta 1 addressable claim, 12 source dossiers, one permanent baseline. The passport is unreviewed — an AI-assisted structural migration, not a human or expert endorsement. Every revision keeps a permanent copy under revision history.

Inspect the claims, one by one — verbatim text, sources and caveats for all 1

The text below is copied verbatim from the published record. Each claim names the source dossiers that carry it; caveats stay attached to the claim they qualify.

Claim 1 clm-102bf17e29607335 quantitative
A peer-reviewed Energy Policy study of 20,000+ Ontario households found demand fell 2.6% on-peak and 2.4% mid-peak after the switch to time-of-use billing.
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
No support note recorded
Caveat
The entry's lesson notes the price signal was too weak to move much load — on-peak still costs only about twice off-peak in Toronto in 2026.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. University of Waterloo — study of Ontario time-of-use pricing (Golab, Rosenberg & Miller, Energy Policy)
Forensic record — source dossiers, gaps, hashes and the exact revision this page renders

This layer records what is known about each source, what is still missing, and the exact snapshot this page is rendering. A missing date, archive or hash stays visible as missing.

unreviewed Revision 2026-08-20-source-dates effective 2026-07-26 · created 2026-08-20

Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither.

sha256:7eda0c4cea8c3967c0bf6246aef3eba592b94c004e4c32da5e71e0312ea3dafd
Revision history → Permanent version link → Machine-readable record → Evidence Constitution →
1
of 1 claims mapped
12
source dossiers
7
publication dates recorded
1
archives linked
0
exact locators
0
content captures hashed

Governance facts carried by the record

Operator
Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited (City of Toronto); prices and price plans set by the Ontario Energy Board
Actor types
utility, regional-government
Funding model
utility
Funding description
Ontario electricity ratepayers, recovered through OEB-regulated distribution rates
Cost
≈CAD 1.9B province-wide (Ontario, to 2014); initially projected at ≈CAD 1B
Ownership
Not recorded
Decision rights
Not recorded
Exit conditions
Not recorded

12 source dossiers

Auditor General of Ontario — news release, 2014 Annual Report s.3.11 auditor.on.ca · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-b2743ebf4abd88a4
Publisher
Name not classified · auditor.on.ca
Type / language
pdf · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-20
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Release title, verified in the document metadata: 'Rollout of $1.9-billion Smart Metering Initiative Had Serious Shortcomings — Benefits Not Yet Realized'. This is the authority for the CAD 1.9B headline figure.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
Auditor General of Ontario — 2014 Annual Report, Section 3.11 Smart Metering Initiative auditor.on.ca · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-b9c003b536e4f828
Publisher
Name not classified · auditor.on.ca
Type / language
pdf · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-20
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Carries the audit findings: 'its projected net benefits of approximately $600 million over 15 years were significantly overstated by at least $512 million', which 'should have been reflected as only $88 million over 15 years', and that costs 'had reached almost $2 billion (compared to the initial projected cost of $1 billion)' as of May 2014. Text reached via the PDF's search index; the file does not render for automated extraction.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Standing Committee on Public Accounts — Smart Metering Initiative ola.org · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-6f81b47dbed1ddec
Publisher
Name not classified · ola.org
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2015-05-27
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-20
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Independent confirmation of scale and sequence: '4.8 million smart meters had been installed in homes and at small businesses' as of May 2014, and 'no cost-benefit analyses or business case studies were done before the government announced Smart Metering in April 2004'.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
Toronto Hydro — news release, 14 May 2009: 'They're Here: Toronto Hydro Shifts to TOU Rates' torontohydro.com · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-a0c71be9d69004a3
Publisher
Name not classified · torontohydro.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2009-05-14
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-20
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Operator source for the Toronto switchover: 'To date, more than 611,000 Toronto Hydro customers have smart meters'; first 10,000 customers moved to time-of-use rates in June 2009, the rest over the following 12 months. The 611,000 is a 2009 count, not a current one.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
Toronto Hydro — Choose your electricity price plan (Customer Choice) torontohydro.com · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-f390aa25215dd5b7
Publisher
Name not classified · torontohydro.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2026-05-01
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-20
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Establishes time-of-use as the default: 'regardless of which plan you choose, your first bill will be charged on the Time-of-Use price plan.' Lists TOU, Tiered and Ultra-Low Overnight; the Ontario Energy Board sets all rates and thresholds.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
Ontario Energy Board — Choosing your electricity price plan oeb.ca · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-802b3149c15145a3
Publisher
Name not classified · oeb.ca
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-20
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Regulator's own statement: 'The choice between TOU, ULO and Tiered prices is available to residential and small business customers that have smart meters and are billed under the OEB's RPP', and 'Most residential and small business customers in Ontario pay TOU prices.'

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
Ontario Energy Board — Summer Hours and New Price Plan Coming May 1 (2023) oeb.ca · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-1a6d51c71a27df3c
Publisher
Name not classified · oeb.ca
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2023-05-01
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-20
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Dates the ultra-low overnight option: utilities could offer ULO from 1 May 2023 and 'By November 1, 2023, all utilities must offer ULO to their customers.'

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
Toronto Hydro — Residential electricity rates (2026) torontohydro.com · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-4c02244edc31ec9f
Publisher
Name not classified · torontohydro.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2026-05-01
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-20
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Current tariff, summer 2026: off-peak 9.8, mid-peak 15.7, on-peak 20.3 cents/kWh — an on-peak to off-peak ratio of about 2.1 to 1. Confirms 'The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) sets and approves all electricity rates.'

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
University of Waterloo — study of Ontario time-of-use pricing (Golab, Rosenberg & Miller, Energy Policy) uwaterloo.ca · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-7bd82343d79faa72
Publisher
Name not classified · uwaterloo.ca
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2017-05-30
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-20
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
Open archived copy ↗ · 2026-03-07
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Peer-reviewed measurement: 'residential demand for electricity dropped just 2.6 per cent during on-peak periods and 2.4 per cent during mid-peak periods.' Based on 20,000+ households at one southwestern Ontario distributor, nine months before and after time-of-use began in November 2011 — Ontario-wide behaviour, not Toronto-specific.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Toronto Hydro — Meter replacement program torontohydro.com · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-f5f4f57576017d35
Publisher
Name not classified · torontohydro.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-20
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Currency check: 'As of May 2024, we've begun a five-year project to replace residential and small business customer meters', swapping first-generation for next-generation meters as the originals approach end of life.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
Toronto Hydro — Green Button torontohydro.com · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-f79ce1acc8ee13a1
Publisher
Name not classified · torontohydro.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-20
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Supports the data-access claim: customers download their own consumption data (Download My Data) and can authorise third parties to receive it (Connect My Data), revocable from the self-serve portal.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
Toronto Hydro Corporation — Annual Information Form for the year ended 31 December 2025 torontohydro.com · background

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-507fc7a2b48614ea
Publisher
Name not classified · torontohydro.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2026-02-25
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-07-26
Dossier created
2026-08-20
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Corporate source for ownership: Toronto Hydro Corporation is wholly owned by the City of Toronto, serving roughly 800,000 customers.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Background source; no baseline claim points here
Known limits of this passport
  • Publisher names and source languages have not yet been classified; domains are recorded without guessing.
  • Existing source notes are descriptive locators, not page- or paragraph-exact citations.
  • A missing archive, publication date or content hash is shown as null rather than inferred.
  • The project-level evidence grade ranks the strongest source in the entry; it is not a truth score for every claim.

Continue exploring

Compare this project

🇯🇵 TEPCO Smart Meter Rollout · Tokyo TEPCO metered all of Kanto; Ontario metered every home too, then its auditor priced the exercise at CAD 1.9B for a 2.6% cut in peak demand. 🇺🇸 LADWP Advanced Metering Infrastructure Rollout · Los Angeles Los Angeles began replacing meters in 2025; Ontario mandated its rollout in 2006 and hit 4.8 million by 2014, at twice the projected cost. 🇨🇱 Santiago's Suspended Smart Electricity Meter Rollout · Santiago Chile tried the same mandate and lost it to ownership: a law moved the meter to the distributor, which then billed households to rent it.

Explore the wider context

💸 The Price Nobody Publishes📖 Smart meter📖 Building performance standard (BPS)📖 District heating
📎 Cite this project

1001 Smart Cities (2026). “Toronto Hydro Smart Meters and Ontario's Time-of-Use Pricing” — Toronto, Canada. The Smart City Atlas. https://1001smartcities.org/projects/toronto-smart-meters-tou/ (last verified 2026-07-26). Data: CC BY 4.0.

The underlying data is free to reuse with attribution — see the open data page.

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