Impact Assessment of Time of Use Pricing for Electricity: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Ontario

The purpose of this study is to evaluate price elasticities of electricity demand by time of use (TOU) pricing in Ontario and thus to contribute to the knowledge base regarding consumer response to price-based demand side management programs. In this study, we will estimate a system of log-linear equations for on-peak, mid-peak and off-peak electricity consumption employing load data. The goal is to estimate the price elasticities of demand for electricity. Preliminary findings indicate that own-price elasticities are: -0.10 during the on-peak period, 0.25 during the mid-peak period and -0.06 during the off-peak period. * Selected paper prepared for presentation at the 2015 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association and Western Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, July 26-28