TORONTO — The peak price of electricity is heading up but the Ontario Energy Board says a decrease in mid- and off-peak prices will mean a lower overall bill for the average consumer.

The peak price will rise one-tenth of a cent on Nov. 1, rising to 11.8 cents a kilowatt hour, the OEB said in a news release Wednesday.

The off-peak price will fall two-tenths of a cent to 6.3 cents per kWh, while the mid-peak price will fall one-tenth of a cent to 9.9 cents per kWh.

For most time-of-use consumers -- now more than 90% of residential consumers -- the changes will mean a lower bill, the OEB says, because the typical home uses 64% of its electricity during off-peak and only 18% in each of the mid and on-peak periods.

The impact for someone with a typical consumption pattern and use of about 800 kWh a month will be 0.8%, or about $1.02 a month.

That decrease, though, would just be on the "electricity" line of the bill -- the price drop does not affect delivery costs and the other charges homeowners pay.

"The prices went up in the spring and while we got a little bit of a dip right now, frankly it's not enough to make a difference," Ontario New Democrat energy critic Peter Tabuns said, adding the long-term trend is still for electricity prices to rise.

"It's no time to break out the champagne -- people are facing higher bills," he said.