Ontario Electricity Rebate
The Ontario Electricity Rebate (OER) is a provincially funded rebate that applies as a credit on qualifying electricity bills and reduces the pre-HST costs on customers’ bills by 11.7%.
Eligibility to receive the rebate is defined under the Ontario Rebate for Electricity Consumers Act, 2016.
The following customer types are eligible:
- Low volume accounts (meaning the account has a demand for electricity of 50 kilowatts or less, or uses not more than 250,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year); this includes residential and many small business customers;
- Farms;
- Long-term care homes; and
- *Multi-unit complexes that are predominantly residential, such as condominium and apartment buildings.
*Multi-unit complexes that are predominantly residential, such as condominium and apartment buildings must complete and submit the OER Self-Declaration form to Hydro Ottawa to attest their eligibility.
For a definition of all of the above terms please refer to the OER Self-Declaration form.
Effective July 1, 2022, the Ontario government is expanding eligibility for some residential and other low volume consumers:
- Common areas in individually metered multi-unit complexes that contain at least 50 per cent residential units, such as condominiums;
- Retirement residences that are not long-term care homes, but do not meet eligibility criteria as a residential multi-unit complex; and
- Residential mobile home parks.
For a definition of the above terms please refer to the OER Self-Declaration form or Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s).
Did you know? If your account is a low volume account, such as ‘’residential and small business customers’’ or relates to a farm or a long-term care home, you don’t need to sign up to receive the rebate. The rebate is applied automatically to your Hydro Ottawa bill each month.
If you have one of these accounts but you are not already receiving the OER, please contact us. If you are not sure whether you are already receiving the OER, check your last Hydro Ottawa bill.
Legacy Exemption
Effective October 31, 2022, the legacy exemption ‘’Grandfathering Period’’ will end. Some accounts that are not eligible but were receiving the former 8% Provincial Rebate that was in place before the OER was introduced on November 1, 2019 receive the OER under a legacy exemption.
You should complete the form only if your account relates to:
- A multi-unit complex;
- Any common elements of a multi-unit complex;
- A retirement residence; and
- A mobile home park
If you are currently receiving the rebate under the legacy exemption and remain eligible under the new provisions, please submit a new OER form to Hydro Ottawa before the end of the legacy exemption that expires on October 31, 2022 in order to continue to receive the rebate as of November 1, 2022.
For a list of ineligible premises, please refer to the OER Self-Declaration form, Part 5: General.
The length of the transition period will depend on whether a consumer has completed and submitted their self-declaration form before February 1, 2021, as follows:
Transition period for consumers who are ineligible for the Ontario Electricity Rebate (OER)
| Self-declaration form received by February 1, 2021 | Transition period (during which consumers will receive the rebate) |
YES | November 1, 2019 – October 31, 2022 |
NO | November 1, 2019 – February 1, 2021 |
Read our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) to learn more on the changes to the eligibility requirements and the new customer notice requirements.
Regulated Price Plan (RPP)
If you own or manage a building that has multiple residences, but only one meter, you have the opportunity to extend your "conservation threshold" through the Regulated Price Plan (RPP).
You may apply to receive an allowance of 1,000 kWh per month during a winter season (November 1 to April 30) and 600 kWh per month during a summer season (May 1 to October 31) for each of your residential units.
This is a self-certification process and you must notify Hydro Ottawa of the number of qualifying units in your establishment by completing and submitting a Declaration Form.
In order to qualify, the account must relate to:
- A property as defined in the Condominium Act, 1998;
- A residential complex as defined in the Tenant Protection Act, 1997; or
- A property that is owned or leased by a co-operative as defined in the Co-operative Corporation Act.
Below you will find a few examples of premises that do not qualify:
- Storage facilities, for example mini-storage facilities, would not qualify as units because there is no tenant living there using the full range of facilities.
- Motels would not qualify except perhaps if there are long term rental rooms similar to rooming houses.
- Office buildings with multiple tenants, for example a real estate office has several agents, each with their own 'office' would not qualify, again because they would not be living there and using the full range of facilities.
- Individually metered common areas such as halls, lighting, laundry and pool/health club services would not qualify because there is no tenant.