What is the NB Power time-of-use rate and should I care about it?

NB Power Time-of-Use Rates: What New Brunswick Homeowners Need to Know

Time-of-use (TOU) electricity pricing charges different rates depending on when you use electricity. NB Power has explored TOU concepts, and understanding the topic helps you prepare — whether TOU arrives soon or you simply want to optimize your current electricity use.

How NB Power Currently Charges

As of 2025–2026, NB Power uses an inclining block rate — not time-of-use:

• Block 1: ~$0.1112/kWh for the first ~1,400 kWh per billing period
• Block 2: ~$0.1374/kWh for all usage above 1,400 kWh
• Monthly service charge: ~$22.47

This means you pay the same rate whether you run your dryer at 2 PM (peak demand) or 2 AM (off-peak). The rate goes up only when you exceed the first block threshold — which most NB homes with electric heat blow past by mid-winter.

What Time-of-Use Would Look Like

If NB Power adopted TOU pricing (as Ontario and some other provinces have), rates would vary by time of day:

Typical TOU structure:

| Period | Hours | Rate (example) |
|--------|-------|---------|
| Off-peak | 11 PM – 7 AM | $0.08–$0.10/kWh |
| Mid-peak | 7 AM – 11 AM, 5 PM – 11 PM | $0.12–$0.14/kWh |
| On-peak | 11 AM – 5 PM (winter: 7 AM – 9 AM, 4 PM – 8 PM) | $0.16–$0.22/kWh |

The goal is to incentivize shifting electricity use away from peak demand periods, which reduces the need for expensive peaking generation.

Why TOU Matters for NB

New Brunswick's electricity demand peaks on cold winter mornings (6–9 AM when everyone turns up heat and gets ready for work) and cold winter evenings (4–7 PM when people return home). NB Power must maintain enough generation capacity to meet these peaks — expensive capacity that sits idle most of the year.

Shifting even 10–15% of peak demand to off-peak hours could defer millions in generation infrastructure costs. TOU pricing is the market mechanism to achieve this.

How to Prepare (Whether or Not TOU Arrives)

Shifting energy use to off-peak hours saves money under both TOU pricing AND the current inclining block rate (by reducing your total consumption during expensive second-block months).

Easy shifts:

• Run your dishwasher overnight instead of after dinner


• Run your clothes washer and dryer in the evening or early morning


• Charge your EV overnight (set a charging schedule in the car or charger app)


• Use a timer on your electric hot water tank to heat water at night (costs $30–$60 for the timer, electrician installation $100–$200)

Smart home automation:

• Smart baseboard thermostats (Mysa, Sinopé) can pre-heat rooms during off-peak hours and coast through peak periods


• Smart EV chargers schedule charging for lowest-rate windows


• Smart plugs ($15–$30) can schedule any device on a timer

Thermal storage:

• Pre-heating your home slightly above your comfort temperature during off-peak hours, then letting it coast down during peak hours. A well-insulated NB home can coast 2–3°C over several hours.


• Heating your hot water tank to maximum (60°C) during off-peak, then relying on stored hot water during peak. This works particularly well with larger tanks (60+ gallons).

Who Benefits Most from TOU

Winners:

• Homes with EV chargers (shift 100% of charging to overnight)


• Homes with smart thermostats that can schedule heating


• Homes with electric hot water tanks on timers


• People who work from home and can run appliances at flexible times


• Homes with battery storage or solar+battery systems

Potential losers:

• Homes where occupants can't shift usage (shift workers, families with rigid schedules)


• Homes with electric baseboard heating and no smart controls (heat demand driven by weather, not schedule)


• Small apartments where cooking, bathing, and heating align with peak hours

The EV Charger Opportunity

EV charging is the single largest controllable electrical load in homes that have one. A Level 2 charger drawing 7.2 kW for 4 hours uses 28.8 kWh per session. Under TOU pricing:

• Charging at on-peak ($0.20/kWh): $5.76 per session
• Charging at off-peak ($0.09/kWh): $2.59 per session
• Annual savings (charging 250 days): ~$790

Every major EV and Level 2 charger supports scheduled charging. Set it once and forget it.

Bottom Line

Whether NB Power adopts formal TOU pricing or not, the principle is sound: electricity is cheapest to produce at night when demand is low. Smart thermostats, EV charging schedules, and appliance timers reduce your costs today and position you well for any future rate structure changes. The investment in smart controls ($500–$2,000 depending on scope) pays for itself through optimized energy use regardless of rate structure.

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