Smart Usage Plan
The Smart Usage Plan was an electricity time-of-use pricing option that was available to residents and businesses in Tompkins County who have smart meters. This pricing option provided individual residents and businesses the opportunity to save by shifting electricity use to low-cost times of day. It also helped to ensure that electricity is delivered consistently and reliably by incentivizing customers to use less electricity during times of highest demand.
How it works
The Smart Usage Plan had two components, delivery and supply, that allowed customers to contribute to reducing New York's peak energy use and potentially reduce your electricity costs. The price of electricity was based on when you use it.
Delivery pricing is what you pay NYSEG to transport energy to your home or business. Delivery pricing is broken down into two periods, off-peak and peak hours, and is based on your service classification:
- Off-peak hours are times of day when the price of electricity is lower due to lower demand.
- Peak hours are times of day when the price of electricity is higher due to higher demand.
Residential |
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| Service Classification Nos. 1, 8 and 12 | ||
| All months | Peak | 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays* |
| Off-peak | 6 p.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, weekends and holidays - all hours |
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Non-residential |
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| Service Classification No. 6 | ||
| All months | Peak | 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays* |
| Off-peak | 6 p.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, weekends - all hours |
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| Service Classification Nos. 2 and 3 P | ||
| Summer months (June - September) |
Peak | 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays* |
| Other months October - May |
Non-summer demand |
All hours |
| Service Classification Nos. 7-1, 7-2 and 7-3 | ||
| Summer months (June - September) |
Peak | 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays* |
| Other months (October - May) |
Non-summer demand |
7 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays* |
*With the exception of the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
Supply pricing is what you pay for the energy purchased for you by NYSEG or a supplier other than NYSEG.
If you purchase your supply through an energy services company (ESCO or supplier), your supply rate will be based on the prices charged by your supplier. If you purchase your supply from NYSEG your supply rate is based on several market-based components including energy, capacity and NYISO (New York Independent System Operator) charges.
Supply prices are based on market demand for electricity and set by NYISO. This means when electricity is in higher demand (think hot summer days and cold winter evenings) the cost is also higher. With a standard supply price, market price fluctuations are often balanced and you'll see an overall cost during your billing period, but not the daily highs and lows of the energy market. On the Smart Usage Plan, you can take advantage of market fluctuations throughout the day and shift your electricity usage to avoid higher priced times of day. Your smart meter data can provide insight on the times of day when you tend to use more electricity and Day-Ahead Supply Alerts provide a reminder when supply prices are expected to be higher.
How you benefit
By shifting energy-consuming activities to lower-cost and off-peak times of day, you can impact your electricity costs and help contribute to a more efficient, resilient electricity delivery system.
Find out which activities use the most energy
View your detailed electricity usage and learn more about Day-Ahead Supply Alerts and our Smart Usage Plan Analyzer by visiting Energy Manager.