Toronto Hydro Rebates and Ontario Electricity Rebate 2026: What Homeowners Actually Get

Who Toronto Hydro Serves and Why It Matters

Toronto Hydro is the local electricity distributor for roughly 780,000 accounts across the former City of Toronto, East York, North York, Etobicoke, Scarborough, and York. If your property sits inside the pre-amalgamation 416 boundary, Toronto Hydro is almost certainly your utility. The rebates and price plans described in this guide apply to Toronto Hydro customers specifically, though the Ontario Electricity Rebate and the provincial Home Renovation Savings Program are the same for every Ontario utility.[5]

If you live in Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Markham, Oakville, St. Catharines, or Hamilton, your local distributor is Alectra Utilities. Ottawa and surrounding areas are served by Hydro Ottawa. Most rural and small-town Ontario addresses are on Hydro One. The provincial rebate, the three price plan options, and the Home Renovation Savings Program all apply the same way across every utility, so the guidance here is portable. Only the Toronto-specific municipal programs, most notably the Home Energy Loan Program and the BetterHomesTO portal, are restricted to City of Toronto addresses.

The Ontario Electricity Rebate: Automatic 23.5 Percent Off

The Ontario Electricity Rebate, usually shortened to OER, is a provincially funded credit applied directly to qualifying electricity bills. It is defined under the Ontario Rebate for Electricity Consumers Act, 2016. In 2026 the credit is 23.5 percent of the pre-HST total on the bill, including the commodity, delivery, and regulatory charges, with HST calculated on the reduced amount.[1]

Almost every owner-occupied single-family home in Toronto qualifies automatically. The program eligibility rules cover residential accounts, small businesses with peak demand at or below 50 kilowatts, farms, long-term care homes, and, since July 1, 2022, the common-element accounts of predominantly residential multi-unit buildings, retirement residences, and mobile home parks.[1] That last category matters for condo owners, because the building-wide electricity for hallway lighting, elevators, parking garages, and amenity spaces now flows through the same 23.5 percent rebate as individual apartment meters.[2]

Most residential customers never need to do anything. Toronto Hydro identifies eligible accounts from utility data and applies the credit to every bill. The exceptions are commercial or large residential accounts that exceed the 50 kilowatt demand threshold or 250,000 kilowatt-hour annual threshold. Those accounts receive an OER Eligibility Notice Form and must self-declare their status. If you receive that form, sign it, return it, and the rebate continues uninterrupted.[1]

On a typical Toronto home using 750 kilowatt-hours per month, the OER reduces the bill by roughly 30 to 45 dollars each month, depending on the selected price plan and seasonal usage. Over a year that is 360 to 540 dollars kept in the homeowner's pocket without any paperwork.

Choosing Your Toronto Hydro Price Plan

Toronto Hydro residential customers on the Regulated Price Plan have three pricing options: Time-of-Use, Tiered, and Ultra-Low Overnight. All three prices are set by the Ontario Energy Board and reviewed every May and November. The rates below are effective from November 1, 2025 through April 30, 2026.[7]

The plan you choose does not change the 23.5 percent Ontario Electricity Rebate, which applies to the pre-HST total regardless of rate structure.[7] The decision comes down to your usage pattern.

Time-of-Use is the default for most Toronto Hydro residential customers and works well for households that can move large loads to evenings and weekends. Tiered is simpler and often better for households with one or two people home during the day, because the flat rate does not punish midday use. Ultra-Low Overnight is a targeted play. The 3.9 cents overnight rate is the cheapest residential electricity price in Ontario, but the 39.1 cents on-peak rate is nearly four times off-peak TOU. It works for households that charge an electric vehicle overnight, run a heat pump with aggressive overnight pre-heating, or have a home battery that stores overnight power for daytime use. For a deeper analysis of when each plan wins, see our Ontario electricity rates 2026 guide.

You can switch plans once per year through the Toronto Hydro online account portal or by calling customer service. The change takes effect on the next billing cycle.[4]

Home Renovation Savings Program: The Big Money for Heat Pumps and Retrofits

The single largest source of rebate dollars for Toronto homeowners in 2026 is the provincial Home Renovation Savings Program, usually written as HRS. It replaced the older Enbridge Home Efficiency Rebate Plus program in January 2025 and is jointly delivered by Save on Energy, which is administered by the Independent Electricity System Operator, and Enbridge Gas, with funding from the Government of Ontario. Toronto Hydro acts as one of the participating utilities that helps promote and verify rebates.[9]

The program is tiered based on the home's primary heating fuel. Electrically heated homes qualify for the larger rebates because replacing electric resistance heat with a heat pump produces deeper provincial grid savings. Gas-heated homes receive smaller amounts because the heat pump displaces natural gas rather than electricity.

The no-audit single-upgrade path is the feature that transformed the program in 2025.[9] Previous versions of Enbridge HER+ required a pre-retrofit EnerGuide audit, which cost 400 to 600 dollars and often delayed projects by months. Homeowners can now install one qualifying measure, submit the invoice, and receive the rebate without an audit. The bundle path, which pays the largest totals, still requires both a pre-retrofit and post-retrofit assessment, and the program reimburses up to 600 dollars of that assessment cost as part of the bundle incentive.

The program was originally scheduled to end November 2025 but has been extended through November 2026 on a first-come, first-served basis. Funding may close earlier if the provincial budget is exhausted. For a complete walk-through of every eligible measure and the application process, see our Home Renovation Savings Program 2026 guide.

Multi-Unit Building and Condo Programs

If you own a Toronto condominium, two things are worth knowing. First, your individual unit's electricity meter qualifies for the Ontario Electricity Rebate the same way a detached house does, and the 23.5 percent credit is applied automatically.[1] Second, since the July 2022 eligibility expansion, the condominium corporation's common-element account also qualifies for the OER. That matters because the building-wide power for elevators, parking garages, hallway lighting, and amenity spaces is typically the largest hydro bill the corporation pays, and a 23.5 percent reduction flows through to every unit owner's monthly fees.[2]

For building-level retrofits, the Save on Energy Multi-Family Program provides direct-install upgrades for common-area lighting, controls, pumps, and ventilation equipment. The Enbridge Commercial Custom Retrofit program covers up to 75 percent of eligible costs for boiler replacements, heat recovery ventilators, and HVAC retrofits in multi-residential buildings, with project caps up to 100,000 dollars.[3] Condo boards considering any major mechanical upgrade should ask the engineering firm whether they have checked Save on Energy and Enbridge program eligibility before pricing the project.

Individual unit owners in condos are generally not eligible for heat pump rebates through the HRS program because the equipment serves a shared building system, not a single metered home. If the condo corporation is replacing a boiler or rooftop unit, the corporation claims the rebate at the building level. Unit owners looking at in-suite electric heat or heat pump mini-splits should consult our condo HVAC rebate guide for Ontario for a clearer picture of what qualifies.

City of Toronto Programs

The City of Toronto layers municipal programs on top of the provincial rebates. Two matter for most homeowners.

The Home Energy Loan Program, known as HELP, is the main financing tool. It lends Toronto homeowners up to 125,000 dollars at low interest, repaid through the property tax bill over terms of up to 20 years. The loan attaches to the property rather than the homeowner, which means it transfers to a new owner if the home is sold. Eligible upgrades cover insulation, windows, doors, water heaters, HVAC systems, and renewable energy. Homeowners typically combine HELP financing with HRS rebates, using the rebate to reduce the loan principal immediately after the work is completed. Mayor Olivia Chow's 2026 budget confirmed continued funding, with 20 million dollars specifically earmarked for heat pump loans through the BetterHomesTO portal.[10]

The second City program is the BetterHomesTO incentive layer, accessed through the same municipal portal. It highlights current utility and provincial rebates, offers free one-on-one advice from an energy coach, and provides additional local incentives for low-income households. For Torontonians at or below the low-income cutoff, the city coordinates with the provincial Energy Affordability Program to provide free direct-install heat pumps, insulation, and efficient appliances at no cost to the homeowner.[11]

A third program, the Eco-Roof Incentive, pays up to 100 dollars per square metre for green roofs and 75 dollars per square metre for cool roofs on eligible Toronto buildings. It applies mostly to commercial and multi-residential properties but is worth checking for large single-family detached homes with flat roof sections.

Financial Assistance Programs for Homeowners Struggling to Pay

Not every homeowner is thinking about upgrades. Some are thinking about how to keep the lights on. Toronto Hydro administers three assistance programs on behalf of the province.[6]

The Ontario Electricity Support Program, often called OESP, provides a monthly on-bill credit for income-qualified households. As of 2024 the program thresholds were raised so more families qualify, and the credit ranges from 35 to 113 dollars per month depending on household size and income.[8] Applications go through the Ontario Energy Board online portal, and approved households receive the credit automatically on every bill for the duration of the approval.

The Low-Income Energy Assistance Program, known as LEAP, provides emergency one-time grants up to 1,000 dollars for households facing disconnection. Toronto Hydro customers apply through partner social service agencies, including Neighbourhood Information Post and WoodGreen Community Services. LEAP is meant for emergencies, not regular bill reduction, and a household can receive it only once per year.

The Energy Affordability Program, delivered by Save on Energy and Enbridge Gas, provides free direct-install upgrades for income-eligible households. Qualifying customers can receive free attic insulation, draft-proofing, ENERGY STAR appliances, and cold-climate heat pumps. The goal is to reduce ongoing bills rather than provide a one-time credit. For households who qualify, this is usually the highest-value program because the upgrades keep paying back year after year.[3]

Stacking Toronto Hydro Rebates with Federal Programs

The provincial Home Renovation Savings Program is explicitly designed to stack with federal programs. The combined ceiling for income-qualified Ontario homeowners can reach 15,000 dollars across provincial and federal sources, plus additional federal money for oil-to-heat-pump conversions.

The practical stacking strategy for a typical Toronto homeowner replacing a 15-year-old furnace and AC with a cold-climate heat pump: claim the HRS heat pump rebate of 2,000 to 7,500 dollars depending on heating fuel, check federal CGHAP eligibility for income-qualified top-up, and if the up-front cost still exceeds available cash, finance the balance through HELP repaid on the property tax bill. The full mechanics, including the order of operations and application timing, are covered in our Ontario HVAC rebate stacking guide.

For a broader view of every active rebate in the province, the GBQ rebates pillar hub maintains a current list with links to each program's eligibility page.

What to Check on Your Toronto Hydro Bill

If you want to verify that the Ontario Electricity Rebate is actually being applied, look at the bill's itemized charges section. You should see a line labelled "Ontario Electricity Rebate" with a negative value representing 23.5 percent of the pre-HST bill subtotal. HST is then calculated on the reduced amount. If the OER line is missing from a residential account, call Toronto Hydro customer service at 416-542-8000 and request an eligibility review. The rebate is supposed to be automatic, but occasional account coding issues cause it to be missed.[1]

For seasonal cottage accounts or secondary residences, the OER applies only if the property is the owner's principal residence or a qualifying eligible use. If Toronto Hydro sends an OER Eligibility Notice Form, return it promptly to avoid interruption of the credit.

On the 2026 delivery rates, Toronto Hydro received Ontario Energy Board approval for updated delivery charges effective January 1, 2026. The changes are modest for residential customers, in the range of a few dollars per month on a typical 750 kilowatt-hour bill. The OER continues to apply to the updated delivery charges at the same 23.5 percent rate.[5]

Quick Decision Guide

Homeowners often ask what order to approach these programs. For most Toronto Hydro customers, the sequence is straightforward.

1. Verify the OER is on your bill. If it is, no action needed. If it is missing on a residential account, call Toronto Hydro.
2. Choose the price plan that fits your usage. Most households do fine on Time-of-Use. Electric vehicle owners and heat pump users should model Ultra-Low Overnight against their actual consumption before switching.
3. If household income qualifies, apply for the Ontario Electricity Support Program and the Energy Affordability Program. Free upgrades beat any rebate.
4. Before any major HVAC or envelope project, run the numbers on HRS plus federal stacking. Heat pumps almost always clear the rebate threshold worth pursuing.
5. If cash flow is the constraint, use HELP financing to bridge between project start and rebate payout.
6. When hiring a contractor, verify TSSA, ESA, and HRAI credentials. Our HVAC permits guide for Ontario and AC installation cost guide cover the credential vetting steps.

Frequently Asked Questions