Hydro Rates for EV Charging at Home: Tiered vs Time-of-Use vs Ultra-Low Overnight

Charging an EV at home on hydro power is already far cheaper per kilometre than gasoline, but the rate plan you sit on changes the math more than most drivers realize. In Ontario, the same overnight charge can cost 3.9¢ per kWh on the Ultra-Low Overnight plan or 20.3¢ per kWh at on-peak times. In British Columbia, a five-cent overnight discount quietly turns a Tier 2 household into an overnight-charging household. And in Quebec, the cheapest electricity in North America comes with a winter catch called Flex D. Here is how the plans compare, what they actually cost in 2026, and where the break-even points sit.

Ontario: Three Plans, Very Different Nights

The Ontario Energy Board sets electricity prices for the province's residential and small-business customers, adjusting them every November 1. Three regulated price plans are available, and you can switch between them at any time through your utility: Time-of-Use (TOU), Ultra-Low Overnight (ULO), and Tiered. The prices below took effect November 1, 2025.

Time-of-Use (TOU) charges by the clock. In winter (November 1 to April 30), off-peak runs weekdays 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. plus all weekend at 9.8¢/kWh, mid-peak is weekdays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 15.7¢/kWh, and on-peak is weekdays 7 to 11 a.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. at 20.3¢/kWh. Summer flips mid- and on-peak: the afternoon becomes the expensive window. An EV owner charging at 11 p.m. pays the off-peak 9.8¢.

Ultra-Low Overnight (ULO) is the EV owner's plan. Every day, 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. costs 3.9¢/kWh — roughly 2.5 times cheaper than TOU off-peak. The catch is the other end of the day: weekday on-peak (4 to 9 p.m.) jumps to 39.1¢/kWh, four times the off-peak price. Weekend daytime hours run at 9.8¢, and weekday mid-peak (7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 9 to 11 p.m.) is 15.7¢.

Tiered ignores the clock and charges by volume: 12.0¢/kWh for the first 1,000 kWh per month in winter (600 kWh in summer), then 14.2¢/kWh above that. A single long-range EV driven 20,000 km a year adds roughly 250 kWh per month — enough on its own to push many households into Tier 2 territory.

Break-Even in Ontario: When ULO Wins

The honest way to compare plans is to price a typical EV charge under each. Take 10 kWh per night — about 60 km of daily driving in an efficient EV — charged from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.:

• ULO: 10 kWh × 3.9¢ = $0.39/night ($11.90/month)
• TOU (off-peak): 10 kWh × 9.8¢ = $0.98/night ($29.90/month)
• Tiered: 10 kWh × 12.0¢ = $1.20/night ($36.60/month), or 14.2¢ = $1.42/night ($43.20/month) once the monthly threshold is crossed

The ULO plan saves roughly $18 a month versus TOU and $25 to $31 versus Tiered for that usage — but only if evening cooking, laundry, and dishwashing stay out of the 4-to-9 p.m. window. ULO's 39.1¢ on-peak rate punishes exactly the hours when most households make dinner. The practical break-even: if you can shift more than about 10 kWh a night into the ultra-low window and keep weekday evening usage modest, ULO wins decisively. Households that cannot avoid evening cooking with electric stoves, or that charge in the afternoon, may find TOU or even Tiered cheaper overall. Ontario utilities let you run the comparison on your own smart-meter data before switching.

British Columbia: Flat, Tiered, and the Five-Cent Overnight Swing

BC Hydro residential customers choose between two base plans, and both can be combined with optional time-of-day pricing. The tiered rate charges 11.87¢/kWh for usage up to a daily-equivalent threshold of 22.1918 kWh per day (about 1,350 kWh over an average two-month bill), then 14.08¢/kWh for everything beyond. The flat rate charges a single 12.70¢/kWh no matter the volume — the better choice for high-consumption homes, including those with two EVs or electric heating.

Time-of-day pricing is where EV owners in BC find their savings. It works as a discount and surcharge rather than separate rates: −5¢/kWh for electricity used overnight (11 p.m. to 7 a.m.) and +5¢/kWh during the on-peak evening window (4 to 9 p.m.), layered on top of your tiered or flat base rate. Overnight charging on the tiered rate effectively costs 6.87¢/kWh — close to half price — while anything drawn during the dinner-hours peak gets marked up. Off-peak daytime hours carry no adjustment at all. BC Hydro explicitly recommends the combination for customers who charge an EV at home overnight, and even allows applying time-of-day pricing to a separate EV-only meter while keeping the household meter on plain tiered or flat.

The break-even in BC is about behaviour, not volume. A driver adding 10 kWh a night pays 118.7¢ on plain tiered rates or 68.7¢ with time-of-day pricing — a 42 percent saving on charging costs, roughly $15 a month for a typical commuter. The surcharge side demands discipline: a household that runs the dryer at 6 p.m. pays 19.87¢/kWh on tiered time-of-day versus 14.08¢ without it. If most of your shiftable load is the EV itself, time-of-day wins; if your evenings are electrically heavy and immovable, stay on the base plan.

Quebec: Cheapest Rates in North America, With a Winter Twist

Hydro-Québec's residential Rate D is a two-block structure: the first 40 kWh per day cost 7.065¢/kWh, and everything above that costs 11.142¢/kWh, plus a fixed 46.154¢ daily grid access fee. Rates rose 3 percent on April 1, 2026. For context, an EV that draws 10 kWh overnight never even leaves the cheap first block, which covers the vast majority of homes most days. Charging the same 10 kWh a night costs about 70.7¢ in Quebec — cheaper than every Ontario plan at any hour, and cheaper than BC's discounted overnight rate.

The interesting option is Flex D, Hydro-Québec's winter peak-pricing rate. From December 1 to March 31, electricity outside peak events is priced below the base Rate D more than 95 percent of the season, but during declared peak events — up to 30 events per winter, maximum 120 hours total, concentrated in the 6 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. windows — the price rises above base rates. You get an email warning the day before each event. Hydro-Québec advertises savings of up to 20 percent on the winter bill for customers who can shift usage away from those windows. For an EV owner, Flex D is close to a free win: schedule charging after 10 p.m. or before 6 a.m., avoid the morning and dinner peaks, and the rest of the year rates revert to plain Rate D.

The National Picture: What a Full Charge Really Costs

Putting the best available overnight rate in each province against a 60 kWh fill (typical for a modern long-range EV) makes the spread obvious:

• Ontario ULO: 60 kWh × 3.9¢ = $2.34
• BC (tiered + time-of-day): 60 kWh × 6.87¢ = $4.12
• Quebec Rate D: 60 kWh × 7.065¢ = $4.24
• Ontario TOU off-peak: 60 kWh × 9.8¢ = $5.88
• BC tiered Tier 2: 60 kWh × 14.08¢ = $8.45
• Ontario Tiered Tier 2: 60 kWh × 14.2¢ = $8.52

Against a gasoline car burning 8 L/100 km at $1.55/L, the same 300-plus km of driving costs about $37 — home charging on the worst Canadian rate plan still saves roughly 75 percent, and on Ontario ULO the saving approaches 94 percent.

How to Pick Your Plan

The decision tree is short. If you live in Ontario and can charge overnight while keeping weekday 4-to-9 p.m. usage light, switch to ULO — the 3.9¢ rate is the cheapest EV energy in the country. If your evenings are electric-heavy, TOU is the safer default, with Tiered worth checking only if your total monthly usage is low. In BC, flat rate beats tiered once your monthly usage reliably exceeds the threshold — roughly 675 kWh a month — and adding time-of-day pricing pays for itself with one overnight-charged EV. In Quebec, Rate D needs no defending; add Flex D only if you can reliably avoid the winter morning and evening peaks, and remember the EV should charge after 10 p.m. regardless of plan.

Every utility in this comparison offers an online estimator that runs the numbers on your actual smart-meter history before you commit. Ontario's OEB bill calculator, BC Hydro's rate estimator, and Hydro-Québec's comparison tools are all free, and switching plans costs nothing.

Related: Best Home EV Charger Canada 2026: Level 2 Buying Guide · Best Home EV Chargers in Canada 2026: Level 2 Charger Comparison · Heat Pumps vs Electric Baseboards in Canada: Which Heats Your Home Cheaper

Looking for EV deals, insurance, or financing? Check out our partner deals and offers.

If you found this guide helpful, use our Tesla referral link for free Supercharging credits on a new Tesla purchase or lease in Canada.