This affects you if you are currently being billed on an Unmetered Water Heater Service rate for the electricity your water heater consumes (meaning the electricity for your water heater bypasses the electricity meter, and instead you are billed a flat rate, fixed amount).
A water heater is one of the largest users of energy in a typical home. At Toronto Hydro, our goal is to continue to provide reliable electricity to all our customers, while promoting conservation. Metered electricity service encourages you to manage and reduce your costs by reducing your hot water use, and therefore your electricity use.
It is important to note that, depending on the amount of hot water you use, flat rate water heating may not be your most economical option. You could be paying more on flat rate billing than you would if you converted to standard metered billing.
If you are currently being billed an Unmetered Water Heater Service rate, you will need to convert your
water heater off of the flat rate onto metered service by having an electrical contractor disconnect the water heater 'control wire(s)' in your electrical panel. The electrical contractor will either install a circuit breaker or re-wire the water heater switch so the water heater is connected to your main electrical panel supply (like the rest of the appliances in your home).
If you do not wish to be on metered electricity service, you can switch from an electric water heater to another type of water heater (such as natural gas, solar, tankless, propane or oil).
How To Convert From Flat Rate
You are required to convert your water heater off of the flat rate by having an electrician disconnect the water heater 'control wire(s)' in your electrical panel. The electrician will either install a circuit breaker or re-wire the water heater switch so the water heater is connected to your main electrical panel supply (like the rest of the appliances in your home).
Once you have this work completed and inspected by the Electrical Safety Authority (www.esasafe.com 1-877-esa-safe) and Toronto Hydro has been notified that you have completed your conversion, the separate Unmetered Water Heater Service rate will be removed from your bill. Once you have converted, you will pay the current electricity rate for your water heater use and this will be part of the electricity charge on your bill.
Another alternative is to convert to another type of water heater such as natural gas, tankless, solar,
propane or oil. If you do so, you will no longer see the separate unmetered water heater service charge on your electricity bill.
Electrical Contractors Can Perform your Conversion to Metered Service
We recommend that you hire a licensed electrician (an electrician with an Electrical Contractor License) to perform this conversion. For more information, please visit the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) Web site.
An ESA Authorized Contractor will provide an ESA Inspection Certificate to Toronto Hydro to confirm your conversion. If you do not use an ESA Authorized Contractor, you are required to provide an ESA inspection number to Toronto Hydro to confirm your conversion has been completed properly and safely.