Frequently Asked Questions
My Account
What should I be looking for when I review my profile?
Your smart meter can help you manage the two things that have the biggest impact on your bill: peak use and consumption. If
your peak use is high, consider staggering the simultaneous use of major appliances to reduce your peak hourly
use and lower your monthly bill. And, once Time-of-Use pricing kicks in, consider reducing or shifting
your consumption away from peak times to periods of lower demand and lower costs.
Finally, look at your base consumption of electricity. Does it seem high to you? If so, you should
investigate whether you have a problem with “phantom electricity loads”. A phantom load is
an electric device that consumes power even when it is turned off. The average home can have up to 20 or
more phantom loads including TVs, cordless phones, microwaves, washers and dryers, lighting dimmers, computers
etc.
Where should I mail my payment?
Enbridge Electric Connections Inc. T46115
PO Box 46115
Postal Station A
Toronto, ON M5W 4K9
What bill payment options are available?
In addition to mailing in their payments, customers may also pay their bill at a local bank branch, via telephone
or the internet . Customers who select the online option should
be sure to choose the proper payee (Enbridge Electric) from the available options.
If my power has been disconnected for non-payment, how do I get it reconnected?
If you have had your power disconnected, please contact the Customer Care Centre at 1-866-449-4423. You will be advised
of the amount in arrears and instructed to pay the balance, plus a $75 reconnection charge, at a Western Union Agent.
If
I get disconnected, when is the soonest I can get reconnected?
Once you have called into the Customer Care Centre with your Western Union receipt number, a reconnection can
be scheduled for the next available appointment window. For example if you call in at 10:00am the next
appointment window available is 12:00pm to 4:00pm.
How do I get re-connected?
To get reconnected you must make an appointment for a service visit through our Customer Care Centre. Business
hour appointments are available Monday to Friday. Customers will be provided with a morning window (8:00am
to 12:00pm) or an afternoon window (12:00pm to 4:00pm). There are also a limited number of after hour appointments
available. Please contact the Customer Care Centre to schedule an appointment.
Does someone need to be home for
the reconnection?
A waiver can be signed and faxed to our Customer Care Centre during business hours to allow reconnections to
occur without anyone home. You can find the waiver by clicking here.
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Customer Service
Where is my smart meter located?
Enbridge Electric installs its smart meters in utility closets or electrical rooms.
Why is my smart meter not located in my unit?
Enbridge Electric installs its smart meters in utility closets or electrical rooms in order to leverage your
building’s electrical infrastructure in the most cost-effective manner.
Our meters are connected directly to your building’s main electrical wires, and then activated to measure
electricity for individual units.
How is my meter read?
Your Enbridge Electric smart meter measures and records your electricity consumption hourly, and then automatically
transmits your data over your building’s existing electrical wires so there is no need for a traditional
meter reading.
How do I set up my new account?
You can set up a new account on our Website by clicking here or
by calling an Enbridge Electric customer care representative at 1-866-449-4423.
How do I sign-up for Automatic Billing?
You can sign up for Automatic Billing on our Website by clicking here or
by calling and Enbridge Electric customer care representative at 1-866-449-4423.
How do I sign-up for the Equal Payment Plan?
You can sign up for our Equal Payment Plan on our Website by clicking here or
by calling and Enbridge Electric customer care representative at 1-866-449-4423.
How do I review my electricity usage online?
All Enbridge Electric customers can review their electricity usage online here.
How do I update my account information?
You can update your account information on our Website by clicking here.
How can I lower my electricity costs?
You can significantly reduce your electricity costs by keeping track of how much electricity you use (consumption),
and the way you use it (peak use). Consider staggering your simultaneous use of major appliances to reduce
your peak hourly use and, once Time-of-Use pricing kicks in, reducing or shifting your consumption away from
peak times to periods of lower demand and lower costs.
Which appliances consume the most electricity?
View our appliance chart for more information
What are the hours of your customer care center?
Our Customer Care Centre is open between 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM (Eastern), Monday to Friday to answer specific customer
inquiries. Our Call Centre is closed Statutory Holidays & Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve & Easter Monday. The
Customer Care Centre number is 1-866-449-4423.
Customers outside of Canada should call 519-255-1259 or email eecustomercare@enbridge.com.
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Services
What is smart sub-metering and how does it work?
Smart sub-metering puts residents in multi-unit residential and commercial buildings in control of their own
electricity costs by using a dedicated meter to measure the energy used in each individual unit. Smart sub-meters
integrate time and use so that they measure not only how much electricity is used but when it is used. Any interval
of time can be used however the Ontario Energy Board has set a standard of hourly use for residential consumers.
Smart
sub-metering lets occupants pay only for what they use, rather than paying an unfair share based on a predetermined
formula as is the case in bulk metered buildings.
What is bulk metering?
In bulk-metered buildings, one meter effectively measures all the electricity used by the building, both in individual
suites and common areas. Since there is no measurement of how much power is used in each individual suite,
electricity delivery and consumption charges are often built into the rent or condo fees based on square footage. As
a result, occupants have no control over their costs and no incentive to save, and can easily become disconnected
from their electricity usage.
Why should owners, developers and property managers consider sub-metering?
Ontario now requires that existing condominium units be individually metered, and the provincial government has
launched its Smart Meter Initiative, which requires that all Ontario consumers have a smart meter by December
31, 2010.
What is the process for sub-metering an existing building?
For existing buildings, installing smart meters is convenient and inexpensive. Our team of Enbridge Electric
contractors will quickly install smart meters in your building’s utility closets, leveraging your existing
electrical infrastructure. That means no core drilling through floors and no need to run additional communication
cables through the building.
Once the meters are installed, we simply connect them to your building’s main electrical wires, and then
program the meters to measure how much electricity is going to each individual unit, and when.
The entire installation process takes approximately one week per 100 units, and occupants are without power
for approximately three hours during the installation.
What is the process for sub-metering a new building?
For new developments, we work with the developer’s existing electrical sub-contractor to ensure that the
installation of our smart meters is seamlessly incorporated into the overall project schedule. As with
retrofits, the smart meters are installed in the building’s utility closets, connected to the building’s
main electrical wires and then activated to meter electricity for each individual unit.
What is a smart meter?
Smart meters are state-of-the-art, interval meters equipped with automatic meter reading (AMR) capabilities that
let you track how much electricity you use, and when you use it.
Ontario has created a target of having 800,000 smart meters installed by December 31, 2007, and installation
of smart meters for all provincial customers by December 31, 2010.
Smart meters will help consumers manage their demand for power by providing them with valuable information about
their household consumption patterns so they can take advantage of “Time-of-Use” pricing to reduce
their bills.
What are the benefits of smart meters?
Smart meters put residents in control of their own electricity costs by using dedicated meters to measure the
energy used in individual suites. So rather than paying an unfair share based on a predetermined formula,
occupants pay only for what they use.
How expensive are smart meters to install?
Enbridge Electric customers generally pay no upfront capital costs for the installation of smart meters (though
there are some exceptions with complex installations). For more information on becoming an Enbridge
Electric customer please call 905-747-5588 or email eesales@enbridge.com.
Who owns the meters?
The meters are owned by Enbridge Electric.
What areas do you serve?
Enbridge Electric currently serves customers in the Greater Toronto Area. As Ontario’s Smart Meter
Initiative rolls out in more markets, we will expand our service offering across the province.
Who supplies the electricity?
The electricity is supplied by regulated Local Distribution Companies (LDCs) licensed to distribute electricity
in your area.
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Electricity Charges
What charges does my monthly bill include?
Enbridge Electric follows the bill format that has been mandated for LDCs by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB). All
residential electricity consumers in Ontario see the same four lines on their bill:
Electricity: This line covers the per kilowatt cost of the electricity you consume
on a monthly basis.
Delivery: The cost of delivering electricity from generators to your utility and then to your home or
business.
This line item includes two elements: a fixed component, which is constant from month to month, and a variable
component, which, for Enbridge Electric customers, changes based on your daily demand for electricity. This
uses a fixed rate that is multiplied against your variable use
Regulatory: The costs of administering the wholesale electricity system and maintaining the reliability
of the provincial grid.
Debt Retirement Charge: Set by the Ministry of Finance to pay down the debt of the former Ontario Hydro.
What is peak use and why does it matter?
Peak Use is the peak amount of electricity required by your home or business during a specific time period, measured
in kilowatts (kW).
Over the past several summers, Ontario has successively set new hourly records for peak use of electricity.
By lowering your peak use you can directly affect Ontario’s supply needs. Through conservation activities,
such as reducing consumption and peak use, you can help ease the strain on Ontario’s distribution system
and reduce the need for additional power generation.
What is the difference between peak use and consumption?
Consumption is the amount of electricity consumed in your home or business during a specific time period, measured
in kilowatt hours (kWh).
Peak Use is the peak amount of electricity required by your home or business during a specific time period,
measured in kilowatts (kW).
How can customers control peak use?
If your peak use is high, consider staggering the simultaneous use of major appliances to reduce your peak hourly
use and lower your monthly bill.
Does Enbridge Electric mark-up the cost of my electricity?
No. Enbridge makes a return on the cost of delivering your electricity, not on the cost of the commodity
(electricity).
What is Time-of-Use pricing and how does it work?
The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) has established special Time-of-Use electricity prices to provide an incentive
for consumers with smart meters to shift their consumption away from periods when total consumption is high
(“on-peak”) to periods when demand for electricity is lower (“mid” or “off-peak”).
These rates are based on pricing trends in the electricity wholesale market, and they fluctuate, as their name
indicates, depending on when, during the day, electricity is consumed.
Many Local Distribution Companies across Ontario are currently in the process of implementing Time-of-Use pricing. As
these utilities start to offer Time-of-Use rates, Enbridge Electric will introduce these prices to its customers.
Under the smart meters price plan, the price consumers pay for electricity will vary based on when during the
day electricity is used.
For this purpose, the OEB has divided the day into three periods:
- On-peak (highest demand for electricity);
- Mid-peak (moderate demand for electricity); and
- Off-peak (lowest demand for electricity).
These periods will be different in the summer than they are in the winter.
How can I lower my electricity costs?
Try turning off appliances and lights when not in use; using appliances such as dishwashers, clothes washers
and dryers with full loads; and using an appliance that uses less electricity to do the same job, for example
a toaster oven uses less electricity than your range oven.
Try changing the use of your appliances by staggering the use throughout the day. By not using major appliances
at the same time you will reduce your maximum hourly rate which will directly affect your monthly electricity
bill.
Which appliances consume the most electricity?
View our appliance chart for more information
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Conservation
What is Ontario’s Smart Meter Initiative?
To create a conservation culture and to help Ontario become a leader in energy efficiency, the government has
created the Smart Meter Initiative to introduce a number of key priorities, including:
- introducing flexible, Time-of-Use pricing for electricity;
- targeting to reduce Ontario's energy consumption by five percent by 2007;
- committing to install a smart electricity meter in 800,000 homes and small businesses by 2007 and throughout
Ontario by 2010; and
- introducing legislation to enable implementation of the government's smart metering initiative and conservation
targets.
Source: Ontario Ministry of Energy
Are smart meters the law?
Yes. Ontario now requires that existing condominium units be individually metered, and the provincial government
has launched its Smart Meter Initiative, which requires that all Ontario consumers have a smart meter by December
31, 2010.
Do customers consume less electricity in smart metered buildings?
Our experience shows that when buildings are converted to smart meters and residents take responsibility for
paying their monthly electricity costs directly, electricity consumption can be reduced by up to 30 per cent.
How can I lower my electricity costs?
You can lower your electricity by curbing your consumption and/or shifting your usage patterns to lower your
peak use. Once Time-of-Use pricing kicks in, you will also be able to lower your electricity costs by
shifting your consumption away from periods when total consumption is high (“on-peak”) to periods
when demand for electricity is lower (“mid” or “off-peak”).
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About Us
What is the relationship of Enbridge Electric to Enbridge Gas?
Like Enbridge Gas, Enbridge Electric is an operating company owned by Enbridge Inc.
Is Enbridge Electric licensed by the Ontario Energy Board?
As part of Ontario’s Smart Meter Initiative, all smart sub-meterers are now required to be licensed by
the Ontario Energy Board. Enbridge Electric has applied for a license as required by the legislation.
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