Off-Peak Hours survey

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nsps

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 26, 2013
Messages
97
Location
Salt Lake City, UT
Hi all,

As I've gone through the forum, I've seen a lot of comments regarding saving money by charging at off-peak hours, but I haven't seen a lot about individual difference in rates.

In Salt Lake City, Rocky Mountain Power makes you apply for off-peak status and have a special meter installed.

I am currently exploring the option and am wondering if the off-peak savings will cancel out the extra charges I'll incur at peak times. The peak price increase is much higher than the off-peak discount.

The off-peak rates are only available May through September, and they work out thus:
4.2415¢ MORE per kWh used during peak hours
1.5905¢ LESS per kWh for off peak hours.

Now, obviously I'll have to look into my own energy usage and figure out if I'll save enough during non-peak hours to make up for extra money paid during peak hours, but I just wanted to know: Does this spread fall in line with the peak/off-peak plans that everyone else's power companies offer? Does everyone find it pretty easy to use 3/4 of their energy during off-peak times? Or is each power company's plan so different that there's no easy comparison?

If you're curious, the flat base rates are 8.5684¢ for the first 400 kWh, 11.1756¢ for the next 600, and 13.9914¢ from then on.

Thanks!
 
Golly, you've got lots of figuring to do . . . . what a complicated rate structure

If you air condition during the summer, I suspect you'll pay more with the new meter and charging your car ay night won't make up the difference, since you'll run the A/C more during the peak hours (daytime) and less at night. It sounds like the peak/off peak rate structure is mainly for those who can shift more of their usage to the off-peak times . . . . pretty hard to do for a household

I see little chance for you to save money, but all sorts of scenarios where your bill could go higher

Don
 
I have been on time of day rates for a year now with excellent results. In Wisconsin the regular rate is 11.7 cents per kwh. I set up off peak from 8pm to 8am M-F plus all weekends and holidays at 5.5 cents per kwh. Peak rate is slightly less than 20 cents in the winter and slightly more than 20 cents in the summer. So I get a 6.2 cent discount for off peak and a 8.3 cent premium for peak time.

I average about 70-75% of my electric use off peak which makes the time of day rate for me cost effective. About 98% of my charging is done off peak. Rarely do I charge during peak times. We did change when we do a few things, like laundry, dishes, installed LED lighting, and take full advantage of a set back thermometer. Note that our utility gives off peak rates all day Saturday and Sunday plus holidays. This is one of the main things that makes this work for us. Check with your utility to see what their weekend policy is.

As for charging, during the cold winter months I get between 2.5 and 3 miles per kwh, or about 2 cents per mile (180 mpge). From April to November this increases to about 4.5 and 5 miles per kwh, about 1.2 cents per mile (300 mpge based on gas at $3.60). If I had remained on the regular rate of 11.7 cents I would have averaged 85 mpge in the winter and 146 mpge in the summer.

If your life style allows you to have at least 60% off peak, then time of day rates can work. The more you can shift useage to off peak times the more you will save.
 
Howdy from Texas where the electric companies installed smart meters, but the providers don't have off-peak rates. :evil:
 
nsps, you're right that you need to assess your own consumption and try to do the math for your own specific case. Your rates certainly seem low. Aside from the unpredictability due to using solar, my own utility rate structure (PG&E) is further convoluted by the use of Tiers, making it virtually impossible to predict not only the monthly net energy but the associated $$ (cost or benefit) as well. Happily, I have a favorable Time Of Use rate grandfathered in, and just this week they finally installed a Smart meter (which had not been available to solar customers until now). You might consider adding solar PV, as PV+ EV is a great marriage.
 
Yes, we are talking about doing a solar installation, possibly on the roof of a new garage. (Our house was built in the '20s and has one single-car garage that's only wired for 110v. We may build a two-car garage fit for charging two EVs, although we're still trying to figure everything out.)

As for the peak charging, we probably won't do it, but I'll try to do a little math before deciding for sure.
 
archie_b said:
I have been on time of day rates for a year now with excellent results. In Wisconsin the regular rate is 11.7 cents per kwh. I set up off peak from 8pm to 8am M-F plus all weekends and holidays at 5.5 cents per kwh. Peak rate is slightly less than 20 cents in the winter and slightly more than 20 cents in the summer. So I get a 6.2 cent discount for off peak and a 8.3 cent premium for peak time.

I average about 70-75% of my electric use off peak which makes the time of day rate for me cost effective. About 98% of my charging is done off peak. Rarely do I charge during peak times. We did change when we do a few things, like laundry, dishes, installed LED lighting, and take full advantage of a set back thermometer. Note that our utility gives off peak rates all day Saturday and Sunday plus holidays. This is one of the main things that makes this work for us. Check with your utility to see what their weekend policy is.

As for charging, during the cold winter months I get between 2.5 and 3 miles per kwh, or about 2 cents per mile (180 mpge). From April to November this increases to about 4.5 and 5 miles per kwh, about 1.2 cents per mile (300 mpge based on gas at $3.60). If I had remained on the regular rate of 11.7 cents I would have averaged 85 mpge in the winter and 146 mpge in the summer.

If your life style allows you to have at least 60% off peak, then time of day rates can work. The more you can shift useage to off peak times the more you will save.
Click to expand...

Ditto. It is proving to be a real money saver in Michigan. Here are my rates with the PEV program. In a nutshell my monthly electric bill has stayed more or less the same and I'm driving about 1000 miles a month.


Summer (June - September) Times Cost per kWh
(approximately)
Off-Peak Hours 11 p.m. - 7 a.m. 7 cents
Mid-Peak Hours 7 a.m. - 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. - 11 p.m. 14 cents
On-Peak Hours 2 p.m. - 6 p.m. 22 cents
Winter (October - May)
Off-Peak Hours 11 p.m. - 7 a.m. 7 cents
On-Peak Hours 7 a.m. - 11 p.m. 13 cents

http://www.consumersenergy.com/content.aspx?id=3367
 

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