The Smart Meters are Coming. The Smart Meters are Coming Pt 6

Recently I began writing about The New Smart Meters. The New Smart Meters

They’ll be coming soon to a neighbourhood near you if not already hooked up to your hydro line.

Soon thereafter you’ll be charged Time Of Use rates (TOU), i.e., 4.4 or 8.0 or 9.3 cents per kwh, as opposed to a flat fee, e.g., 5.8 cents in London.

Please click here to read Part 5 for some context.

Please click here to read Part 4 because it ended on such a cheery note.

Some cities in Ontario, e.g., Milton, are already paying TOU rates, but I think London will not be switching consumers to, generally speaking, the higher rates, for a few months yet.

(The 5.8 cent rate will continue at least until April 30, 2010 according to a chart on the London Hydro website).

Recent comments back at Part 5 deserve some consideration at this time.

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To Anonymous I can only say, I’m here to swerve.

Lost Motorcyclist said the following...

Raising the rates for big users will probably have some impact in local jobs. If we're ready to face up to that, then we are ready to raise their rates.



If you will be paying more for Hydro 92% of the time (Lost Motorcyclist is referring to me here), is that after you shift your use to off peak hours? I can't find my book right now but I read about ways to take advantage of the off peak rates.

I said earlier that 92% of my usual hydro-based activities will cost me more after Ontarians switch to TOU rates (incl. higher rates between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.), but there are indeed ways to take advantage of the lowest rate, 1.e., 4.4 cents per kwh (between 10 p.m and 7 a.m. on weekdays and all weekend) if I go the green shift.

For example, during summer months I can adjust the thermostat on my one window-based air conditioner upward a few degrees, use it primarily during off-peak hours and hope the weather co-operates.

Truth be told, I never use the a/c. If the house gets too hot I sit on the shaded front porch, take a motorcycle ride or work in my shop.


["One ride took me to the Sibley Peninsula on Lake Superior": photo GAH]

My wife, however, uses it a good deal as she feels the heat more than I do.

Should I talk to her about changing her a/c habit? Or do I want to live happily under the same roof with her until I’m 87? (Hmmm, I’ll get back to you about that one).

Though other changes to my routine will be easy to implement, i.e., I can do laundry Saturday morning before my regular trip to The Little Red Roaster for two big mugs of dark roast coffee, my computer use, TV habit and workshop routines will be harder to fix.

If the hydro bill goes up significantly, however, I may conserve energy by just dropping certain wasteful habits.

I mean, how many Law and Order episodes do I really need to watch before I get the point?

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Will we cook more on weekends to last us through the week?

Will we buy more power bars, drop Coronation St.?

What else would be a valuable switch?

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