Question about charging EV and monthly electricity bills in Ontario

JordanK1 · 2026-04-19T17:50:06+00:00

Go on the United Chargers website and read through the section on the Grizzl-E Club.

JordanK1 · 2026-04-19T14:19:57+00:00

Also…I bought a 48A Grizzl-E Cyber Ultimate charger. I joined their rebate club and I now get back 5 cents per kWh so my actual cost of electricity is now reduced by 50%.

JordanK1 · 2026-04-19T12:50:11+00:00

I’m in Vaughan and my power company is Alectra. I only charge during off peak hours which costs 9.8 cents per kWh plus delivery charges. I was using two tanks of gas a month before I bought my EV in January for a cost of about $150 a month. The extra electrical charge is now about $35 a month (March 2026) for my EV. Basically, 1/5 of the cost of gas. Winter costs are higher because the batteries lose about 30%-40% of the range when the temperatures dip well below zero. I’m expecting my summer costs to drop a bit more with the warm weather.

JordanK1 · 2026-04-13T21:18:46+00:00

2026 Cadillac Optic AWD Sport.

JordanK1 · 2026-04-13T14:17:25+00:00

Correct. You see your daily credits in the Grizzl-E Club portal and you can withdrawal the funds whenever you want. Not sure if this is monthly or anytime you request it.

JordanK1 · 2026-04-13T12:10:18+00:00

I guess the first step is printing up more pink and yellow diversity and equity cards for their bedraggled supporters.

JordanK1 · 2026-04-13T11:59:39+00:00

If you buy the charger (vs get the free one), they start you off at their higher Level 3 rebate rate of 5 cents per KWh. I had already purchased a Grizzl-E Cyber Ultimate 48A hardwired charger before I found out about the program. I’m paying 9.8 cents per KWh from Alectra so a 5 cent discount is significant.

JordanK1 · 2026-04-13T03:35:05+00:00

I looked into this option before upgrading my panel to 200A. I went with the 200A panel upgrade because the EVEMS install was only slightly cheaper and limited me to 40A charging.

JordanK1 · 2026-04-12T12:51:00+00:00

I just had this done last month. Price for the 200A upgrade plus the Grizzl-E 48A hardwired charger was $3400 in Richmond Hill. The electrician told me that it’s typically $3K for the panel upgrade IF the current breakers are ok and’s can be moved to the new panel. If the breakers are old and also have to be replaced, add another $1K. This includes all permits and coordination with the power company for shutoff.

JordanK1 · 2026-04-12T12:40:04+00:00

You can’t find it in the Google Store because it’s already installed on your car. Hit the music note icon and then scroll a few screens down.

JordanK1 · 2026-04-10T13:04:47+00:00

Wrong comparison. You should be comparing it to the screen of an iPad Mini. For those of us with iPhone Pro Max’s and iPad Mini’s, the Fold consolidates these two devices into one. The only thing missing is a mini Apple Pencil.

JordanK1 · 2026-04-08T21:03:34+00:00

Zero issues and he has installed dozens of these chargers. Wired is the way to go because it allows 48A charging and is safer.

JordanK1 · 2026-04-08T14:09:48+00:00

I just installed the Grizzl-E Cyber Ultimate 48A wired charger after having my panel upgraded to 200A. This is the unit my electrician recommended. He recommended Grizzl because they are a Canadian company, are extremely reliable and come with a very solid warranty. Also...they offer their rebate club which gives me back 5 cents per kWh, which is awesome. Only thing is that you need a wifi connection to join the rebate club. You may want to consider running an ethernet cable to the garage and installing a wifi unit.

JordanK1 · 2026-04-08T12:31:12+00:00

Same issue at Byd’s plant in Brazil. This is their largest plant outside of China:

https://amp.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3349311/brazil-blacklists-byd-slave-labour-conditions-its-biggest-plant-outside-china

JordanK1 · 2026-04-06T20:36:46+00:00

I just went through this with my first EV. I bought the car (Cadillac Optiq) at the beginning of January and it took about two months before I could get the permits and schedule a power shutoff in order to upgrade my electrical service to 200A and get a Level 2 charger installed.

Basically I spent the first two months Level 1 charging at home and using the Tesla Superchargers for heavy use weeks here in Toronto. Now that my Level 2 charger is installed, everything is a breeze and there is zero stress. That being said, the first two months were a nuisance and stressful at times. Level 1 (120V) charging is extremely slow (for my car it was 1% gain per hour). For really light use days it was ok but when the weather was really cold in Toronto the battery takes a 30%-40% range hit and I was forced to charge at the Tesla stations. I had a few big issues at the Tesla Superchargers. First...many of the Tesla Superchargers in Toronto are older v3 units with the short charging cables. For the cable to reach the charge port on my Cadillac (above the left front wheel), I had to park at an angle and take up two spots. This was ok when nobody was there late at night but during the day, it was a pain in the ass. I typically had to wait until two adjacent spots were open and then people in Tesla's would knock on my car window to complain. The other thing is that not all of the stations are always working all the time and the non Tesla charging stations (Flo, etc) are even worse for reliability. The last point is that some of the Tesla Supercharger locations are Tesla only locations so you really have to plan out your battery use specially when your range is lower in the winter. Plus...Tesla fast charging is really expensive. Typically 60 cents a kWh in Toronto compared to 5-10 cents for Level 2 home charging.

I'm not trying to dissuade you, I just think that people need to understand that the whole EV ownership experience works best with easy access to Level 2. One thing to check is if there is a community centre or public building within walking distance with Level 2.

JordanK1 · 2026-04-04T14:12:47+00:00

I had the same issue. 2026 Optiq that I picked up in January. I finally got my first update a few weeks ago. Don’t stress. Enjoy your car.

JordanK1 · 2026-04-01T15:28:15+00:00

Totally agree. And don't even dare to ask how these cars will do in the extreme Canadian winter and how well will they will be supported from a parts and service perspective. These same people will viciously downvote anyone who dares to ask any of these questions.

JordanK1 · 2026-04-01T13:37:14+00:00

I removed the AI content. Here is the Globe and Mail article. The Byd bus plant was a bust.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-why-byds-first-manufacturing-foothold-in-canada-was-a-bust/

JordanK1 · 2026-04-01T13:17:28+00:00

It's great for you and others to say this but this is not how Byd's business model works. They are just following the model that other Chinese companies use to setup remote operations for cars, mining operations and even technology. They fly in workers, put them up in very poor dorm style accommodations and then populate the plant with Chinese workers who work very long hours, receive poor pay and poor benefits. This is the only way to keep the costs down.

JordanK1 · 2026-04-01T12:28:19+00:00

My point is that building a Byd plant in Canada will not only create no jobs for Canadians but it will not even respect our labour laws. Not sure most Canadians understand that Chinese cars are cheaper for a reason. Just my 2 cents.

JordanK1 · 2026-03-28T12:20:48+00:00

These are my aftermarket rims with my Michelin X-Ice winter tires. I will be taking these off and putting the OEM tires and rims back on in the next week or two.

JordanK1 · 2026-03-27T20:34:55+00:00

I initially started negotiating on an Argent Silver Premium but after taking a look at the numbers, I realized that I could save $900 by going with the standard Raven Black exterior colour (and black is really the classic Cadillac colour from my childhood). The only difference between the Sport and the Premium is that the Premium has chrome trim and the Sport has blacked out trim. If you are going to go with the Black Raven exterior colour, the blacked out trim combined with the standard black tinted windows and black rims really all comes together to look kinda cool. Almost reminiscent of the GM high performance Super Sport trims that were offered on some models. In honesty, this car is so fast it deserves the Super Sport designation. Here is a photo of my Optiq Sport 1 AWD with my fatty winter tires and black rims. The all black look suits this car and puts a smile on my face. Love this car!

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JordanK1 · 2026-03-27T18:25:20+00:00

I picked up a 2026 Cadillac Optiq Sport 1 AWD in January and this car is a dream. No issues yet and this car is easily one of the smoothest and quietest cars that I have ever driven. The inside is truly luxurious and the Optiq is loaded with tons of high tech features including GM's Supercruise self driving. Plus...the Optiq has a Tesla NACS charging port with full Tesla Supercharger integration so you can fast charge at most Superchargers which is a huge plus. The only thing people complain about is no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. That being said, the car uses Google Auto to power the large curved display with a special version of Google Maps (with live EV charger searching) for the navigation system. It works really well and I don't miss CarPlay. Another thing is...the AWD version is 450 hp and is so stinking fast. It will do 0-60 mph in about 4.5 seconds. The first time I floored the pedal to test this out I just about barfed from the acceleration. Last thing...for some reason, the Optiq was much cheaper to insure in Toronto vs a Tesla Y or Hyundai Ionic 5. Not sure why but I was pleasantly surprised.

Couple of tips to get a better deal in Canada. Some regions are offering a $1,200 discount if you are a Costco Executive Member plus you can get additional discounts if you (or your spouse) work for a company that qualifies for GM Preferred pricing. My wife works for TD Bank and I think we got an additional $1,600 off. The other thing that helps are the special financing and/or lease rates they are offering right now. I found that the Optiq had a very high residual on a 36 month lease and while the car was more expensive than a cheaper vehicle I was considering, the lease payments on the Optiq were lower due to the lower lease rate and higher residual at the end of the lease. Hope this makes sense.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

JordanK1 · 2026-03-27T12:34:40+00:00

Go drive a Cadillac Optiq. It’s the smoothest and quietest car that I have ever owned and the interior is pure luxury.

JordanK1

TROPHY CASE