It was a busy week for Ontario hydro. Hydro One filed a five-year investment plan, the province’s electricity system operator picked up a national award, and the annual November 1 price reset is just around the corner. Here is what each item means for your home.

Hydro One files a five-year plan

On October 7, Hydro One asked the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) to approve a plan covering 2028 to 2032. According to Hydro One, the plan is worth about $37 billion over five years and covers both the high-voltage lines and the local wires that reach your street.

The company says the plan would modernize roughly 1,400 km of transmission lines, replace or refurbish more than 85,000 distribution poles and add smart switching to about 90% of major distribution lines to help find outages and restore power faster.

One detail stands out for anyone who has sat through a long outage: Hydro One says the plan includes 5,400 residential energy storage systems, which it says could cut outage time by about 95% for the customers hit hardest by prolonged outages.

What it could mean for your bill

For a typical year-round customer in a medium-density area, Hydro One estimates:

• The transmission part of the bill would rise about $0.50 a month in 2028, then by an average of about $1.14 a month each year through 2032.
• Distribution base charges would fall about $0.10 a month in 2028 and then stay flat.

Important: this is a proposal, not a decision. The OEB will review it, and Hydro One says its numbers could change. Nothing about your bill changes today, and these figures only apply to Hydro One’s own customers. If your hydro comes from another local utility, this filing does not set your rates.

IESO wins a national energy efficiency award

On October 6, the IESO, which runs Ontario’s power system and the Save on Energy programs, announced it won the ENERGY STAR 2026 Utility of the Year Award. The IESO says Ontario’s electricity demand in 2025 was about 11% lower than it would have been without Save on Energy programs.

It also reports that more than 306,000 homes and small businesses took part in its Peak Perks program in 2025. Peak Perks rewards households for easing off power use at the busiest times. For a homeowner, the takeaway is simple: using less power when the grid is stretched helps keep costs in check for everyone.

What to watch: the November 1 price reset

The OEB resets time-of-use (TOU), ultra-low overnight (ULO) and tiered prices once a year on November 1. The prices currently in effect were set on November 1, 2025. They are:

• TOU: 9.8 cents per kWh off-peak, 15.7 mid-peak and 20.3 on-peak.
• ULO: 3.9 cents overnight, 9.8 weekend off-peak, 15.7 mid-peak and 39.1 on-peak.
• Tiered: 12.0 cents for the first tier and 14.2 for the second.

As of today, the OEB has not posted new prices for November 1, 2026. Last year the OEB announced the change on October 17, so an announcement could come in the next week or two. It is worth checking the OEB site, and if you are on a TOU or ULO plan, it is a good moment to look at when you run the dishwasher, laundry and car charger.

Worth knowing before winter: Home Renovation Savings heat pump rebates

This is not new this week, but it is a good time to know where things stand. According to the official Home Renovation Savings site, a cold climate air source heat pump can earn $500 per ton (up to $2,000) if your main heat is natural gas, or $1,250 per ton (up to $7,500) if it is electricity, oil, propane or wood. Ground source heat pumps are listed at up to $3,000 and up to $12,000 respectively. The program requires approval before installation. Eligibility depends on program rules – we can help check during your consultation.

From the Vivion team

This week’s news points in the same direction: a grid that is working harder, and homeowners who want more control over when and how they use power. At Vivion Energy, we install home battery storage (including Fox ESS systems, and we are an authorized Fox ESS dealer), heat pumps, hybrid heat pump water heaters and solar PV systems across Ontario. We are also a Home Renovation Savings Program participating contractor. What suits your home depends on how you use energy, and sizing is confirmed during a consultation.

If you would like to talk it through, we would be glad to help: book a free consultation with Vivion Energy.

Information is current as of October 11, 2026. Programs and rates can change, so check the official source or contact us before making decisions.