Blog · Waterloo

On the ultra-low overnight plan? What Christmas lights cost per night in Waterloo

On the November 1, 2026 Ontario Energy Board prices, a typical 60-watt LED display run from 5 to 10 p.m. on a weeknight costs about 10 cents a night on the ultra-low overnight plan and about 4 cents on time-of-use, because the overnight plan's 37.7-cent on-peak runs from 4 to 9 p.m. on weekdays; starting the lights at 9 p.m., or using a smaller scene before then, closes most of that gap.

Last updated October 28, 2026 · Reviewed by the Waterloo Christmas Lights team

Do Christmas lights cost more on the ultra-low overnight plan?

Yes, on weekday evenings, because the plan's on-peak block is exactly when holiday lights are on. Under the Ontario Energy Board's prices from November 1, 2026, the ultra-low overnight plan charges 37.7 cents per kWh on weekdays from 4 to 9 p.m., compared with 18.9 cents for the time-of-use on-peak, which ends at 7 p.m. With LED the totals are still small, a few cents a night for a modest display, but the plan you are on changes the right schedule for the lights.

Waterloo's electricity is delivered by Enova Power, which replaced Waterloo North Hydro when it merged with Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro in 2022. Enova also serves Woolwich Township, so the same price plans apply in Elmira and St. Jacobs.

What are the three price plans this winter?

These are the Ontario Energy Board's Regulated Price Plan prices from November 1, 2026, for the electricity itself. Enova's delivery charges, regulatory charges and HST are separate lines on the bill.

Plan	Weekday evening prices that matter for lights
Time-of-use	On-peak 18.9 ¢ until 7 p.m. (winter weekdays 5 to 7 p.m.), then off-peak 9.1 ¢ from 7 p.m. Weekends off-peak all day.
Ultra-low overnight	On-peak 37.7 ¢ weekdays 4 to 9 p.m.; mid-peak 14.6 ¢ 9 to 11 p.m.; ultra-low 3.7 ¢ 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. every day. Weekends 9.1 ¢ outside the overnight hours.
Tiered	11.2 ¢ for the first 1,000 kWh a month in winter, 13.2 ¢ above that, at any hour.

How do I work out what my display uses?

Read the watts on each string's label, add them up, multiply by the hours on, and divide by 1,000. That is kilowatt-hours. Multiply by the price for each hour block and you have cents. A display of LED roofline and porch lights drawing 60 watts uses 0.06 kWh every hour it is on. A larger display with wrapped trees might draw 300 watts, or 0.3 kWh an hour. The wattage is on the label of every certified string; if a string has no label or no certification mark, Health Canada's advice is not to use it, which also settles the arithmetic.

What does a weeknight cost on each plan?

Here is a 60-watt display on from 5 to 10 p.m. on a weekday, five hours and 0.3 kWh in total:

Time-of-use: 5 to 7 p.m. on-peak is 0.12 kWh at 18.9 ¢, about 2.3 ¢. 7 to 10 p.m. off-peak is 0.18 kWh at 9.1 ¢, about 1.6 ¢. Total about 3.9 cents a night.
Ultra-low overnight: 5 to 9 p.m. on-peak is 0.24 kWh at 37.7 ¢, about 9.0 ¢. 9 to 10 p.m. mid-peak is 0.06 kWh at 14.6 ¢, about 0.9 ¢. Total about 9.9 cents a night.
Tiered (within the first 1,000 kWh): 0.3 kWh at 11.2 ¢. Total about 3.4 cents a night.

Scale it to a 300-watt display with trees and the same evening comes to roughly 19.5 cents on time-of-use and roughly 50 cents on the ultra-low overnight plan. On a weekend, the overnight plan charges 9.1 ¢ through the evening, so the same 300-watt display costs about 13.7 cents for those five hours.

How should I schedule the lights on the overnight plan?

Move the expensive hours, not the whole display. Most households choose the overnight plan to charge a car or run appliances after 11 p.m., and switching back for six weeks of lights rarely makes sense. Instead:

Start later on weeknights. Lights from 9 p.m. to midnight on a 60-watt display cost about 1.8 ¢ for 9 to 11 p.m. and about 0.2 ¢ for the last hour: roughly 2 cents a night.
Run a small scene from dusk to 9. Porch and front eave only, then the full display at 9. On a permanent system this is one schedule in the app.
Go full on weekends. Saturday and Sunday evenings are 9.1 ¢ on the overnight plan, the same as time-of-use off-peak.
Do not leave lights on all night. The 3.7 ¢ overnight price is tempting, but the Electrical Safety Authority advises turning lights off when you go to bed or leave the house.

On time-of-use or tiered, the case for a late start is much weaker: the difference between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on a 60-watt display is about a cent.

Is it worth switching plans for the holidays?

Not for the lights alone. The difference for a modest LED display is a few cents a night, small next to what a car or electric heating draws. Look at the whole household's use before switching plans, and use the Ontario Energy Board's information on choosing a price plan.

The calculation changes slightly for permanent lighting, because it can run every evening of the year rather than for six weeks. Even then, a 40-watt accent scene from 9 to 11 p.m. on a weeknight is 0.08 kWh, about 1.2 cents at the overnight plan's 14.6-cent mid-peak price, and the same two hours on a weekend evening are about 0.7 cents at 9.1 cents. What makes the difference is the start time, not the plan: set the weekday schedule to begin at 9 p.m., and the overnight plan costs about the same as any other for lights.

Where the real cost sits

For almost every Waterloo house, the electricity is the smallest part of holiday lighting. The installation, the takedown in January and the replacement of worn strings are the costs that matter, and those are set out in the cost guide. Owners on the overnight plan often find permanent lighting the easiest to manage, because the schedule lives in the controller and changes with one tap. For a seasonal display, a timer set once at installation does the same job. Send the house details through the quote form and mention your price plan, and the schedule is set to suit it.

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