Premier Doug Ford is cutting daytime electricity prices by about $20 monthly for the average household with so many Ontarians at home from 9 to 5 during the COVID-19 crisis.

The province is switching to the evening, overnight and weekend price of 10.1 cents per kilowatt hour for the next 45 days at a cost of $162 million in foregone revenue.

“The savings will simply show up on your next bill,” Ford told a news conference Tuesday, telling Ontarians it’s now cheaper to “do the laundry or run the dishwasher” during the day.

Energy Minister Greg Rickford estimated the measure that started Tuesday will save the average small business $150 a month with farms getting relief of about $300.

Rickford praised Ontarians “for doing the right thing by staying home.”

The Association of Power Producers of Ontario applauded the price break.

“Ontarians should not be financially disadvantaged because they are following the direction of public health officials and staying home,” the organization said in a statement.

A group representing small- and medium-sized companies asked the Progressive Conservative government to consider extending the rate relief beyond the envisioned six-week time frame.

That would “avoid businesses that are starting back up after COVID-19 facing peak summer rates when the economy is just getting going again,” said Ryan Mallough of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Ford had hinted at the rate reduction move in the last week after closing schools, declaring a provincial state of emergency and urging people to stay home or work from home to slow the spread of the virus that has killed seven in Ontario and more than 17,000 around the world.

In addition, thousands of workers in the restaurant, retail and other sectors have been laid off as the province moves to an essential services model.

With so many offices, manufacturers and schools dark, TVs and computers are on all day in houses, apartments and condos when time-of-use rates are usually 40 per cent to 100 per cent higher depending on the time of day.

The peak price from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., and the dinner rush rate from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. is 20.8 cents per kilowatt hour on weekdays. The mid-peak rate between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. is 14.4 cents.

The $162 million price tag is on top of the $5.6 billion a year the Progressive Conservative government is spending on subsidies to keep the price of electricity down. In addition, Ford promised during his 2018 election campaign to slash rates another 12 per cent.

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The premier urged landlords to consider sharing the rate relief with tenants whose hydro is included in the rent.

“If you have a savings why wouldn’t you pass it on?”

A ban on winter disconnections of electricity service for unpaid hydro bills was extended last week to the end of July as thousands struggle with household finances because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ontario Energy Board, which sets rates, has asked local electric utilities across the province to “be more flexible on arrears payment arrangements.”

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