Rules for Customer Choice
If you don’t want to switch your price plan, you don’t need to do anything. You will stay on your current price plan. If you recently switched price plans but want to switch back, you can do that too.
If you do want to switch price plans, here are the rules that apply:
- You can elect to switch your price plan by contacting Greater Sudbury Hydro at customerservice@gsuinc.ca or by phone at 705-675-7536, Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:00pm.
- Greater Sudbury Hydro must make its election form available on its website, and to any customer that requests it. Greater Sudbury Hydro must accept election forms by email or mail at a minimum. Greater Sudbury Hydro also allows requests to be made by contacting us directly by email at customerservice@gsuinc.ca or by phone at 705-675-7536, Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:00pm.
- You should have a recent electricity bill on hand when filling out the form, as you will need your utility account number. For help to find the account number and other parts of the electricity bill, see sample TOU and Tiered bills on the Ontario Energy Board’s website at oeb.ca/choice.
- Within 10 business days of receiving your election form, Greater Sudbury Hydro must tell you if your election form can’t be processed and must explain why (for instance, if you’re not authorized to make changes to the account, or the account can’t be verified).
- If there are no issues with your election form, Greater Sudbury Hydro has the same 10 business days to let you know when you can expect to start being billed on Tiered prices.
- A switch between price plans can only take effect at the start of a billing period. You are generally billed for a 30-day period, and the start and end dates are identified on your electricity bill.
- Greater Sudbury Hydro must start charging you under your requested price plan as of your next billing period after you submit your election form if it receives that form at least 10 business days before that billing period starts, and provided there are no issues with your form (see above).
- If Greater Sudbury Hydro receives your election form less than 10 business days before the start of your next billing period, it might still be able to switch you for your next billing period. But if it can’t do so, it has to start charging you under your requested price plan at the start of the next billing period after that.
- Greater Sudbury Hydro is required to inform all new residential and small business customers that they have a choice between TOU or Tiered prices when they set up the account.
- The choice between TOU and Tiered prices is available to nearly all residential and small business customers that have smart meters and are billed under the OEB’s RPP. Some residential and small business customers are charged Tiered prices because their meters can’t be used to bill TOU prices. They can’t switch to TOU prices at this time.
- If you live in a condominium or apartment that has its own individual meter and your bill comes from a company other than Greater Sudbury Hydro, you are a customer of a unit sub-meter provider (USMP). Customers of USMPs also can’t switch to Tiered prices. That decision can only be made for the building as a whole by the “master consumer,” who is the person that retained a USMP for the property. In most cases, the master consumer is the property manager, landlord or condominium board.
- Customers buying their electricity from an energy retailer pay the electricity price set out in their contract. Once they have left their retail contract, they will have a choice between paying TOU or Tiered prices. For details about your energy contract, contact your energy retailer.
For more information about TOU and Tiered pricing, visit our Current Electricity Rates page or oeb.ca/choice.
- For customers that have signed up for a contract with an energy retailer, the price is set out in the contract. The Ontario Energy Board does not regulate this. Read more about contracts.
- The choice between TOU and Tiered prices is available to nearly all residential and small business customers that have smart meters and are billed on TOU. Some residential and small business customers are charged Tiered prices because their meters can’t be used to bill TOU prices. They can’t switch to TOU prices at this time.
- If you live in a condominium or apartment that has its own individual meter and your bill comes from a company other than Greater Sudbury Hydro, you are a customer of a unit sub-meter provider (USMP). Customers of USMPs also can’t switch to Tiered prices. That decision can only be made for the building as a whole by the “master consumer,” who is the person that retained a USMP for the property. In most cases, the master consumer is the property manager, landlord or condominium board.
- Customers that are buying their electricity from an energy retailer pay the electricity price set out in their contract. Once they have left their retail contract, they will have a choice between paying TOU or Tiered prices. For details about your energy contract, contact your energy retailer. More information about energy retailers.
For more information about TOU and Tiered pricing, visit oeb.ca/choice.