Time-of-use service rate

Using electricity during mid-peak and off-peak service times may help you control your electricity costs. If you use at least 35,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per year, our time-of-use pricing option may help you manage your energy costs.

Your monthly bill is affected by the price of energy and the amount of energy you use. Your energy costs include the fixed delivery cost from your utility and the supply cost based on the supply option you have selected. As your energy delivery company, we build and maintain a safe, reliable system to deliver your energy supply to you. The supply charge is what you pay your supplier for the energy you use. If you purchase your supply from us, we pass through the variable market cost without profit or markup. You can also shop for your supply through an energy services company (ESCO) and your supply cost would be determined based on the agreement with your supplier. 

What is the time-of-use pricing option?

During on-peak hours, when customer demands for electricity are highest, the market supply cost of providing electricity is greater than at mid-peak and off-peak hours, when customer demand is lower. With the time-of-use service pricing option, your cost varies according to the period in which you use the electricity.  If you use electricity when demand is high (on-peak), your cost will be higher. However, if you use electricity when the demand is low (off-peak), your cost will be lower. If you use electricity during mid-peak hours, your cost will be in between the on-peak and off-peak rates.

Will I save money using the time-of-use pricing option?

It depends on the amount of electricity you use, when you use it and your supply price. 

The delivery cost for this pricing option is the same fixed cost during all hours. If you purchase your electricity supply from us, on-peak hours are higher than our regular residential rate while mid-peak and off-peak hours offer lower market supply costs when demand and market cost for electricity is lower. While off-peak supply costs are typically lower than our regular residential rate, they can be higher depending on the market cost and demand for energy during the year. 

There is also a higher monthly meter charge. Customer who shift a large portion of their use of major electrical appliances to off-peak or mid-peak hours may save money. The important thing to remember is that the time-of-use service pricing option gives customers with high electricity usage an opportunity to control their bill by shifting use to mid-peak and off-peak periods.

You can view current and historical electricity pricing for time-of-use, day-night and regular residential pricing options here. 

How are time-of-use and regular residential supply pricing different?

The time-of-use and day-night pricing options use daily market prices, which means you see a difference in supply costs - higher or lower - on your bill more immediately. Our regular residential pricing option builds in market forecasting and purchasing to help buffer the fluctuations in electricity pricing. The differences in market and forecasted supply costs are then reconciled over several months. This means there are times of the year (think very cold winter months or hot summer months) where both the mid-peak and off-peak supply costs on the time-of-use pricing option could be higher than the regular residential pricing option. 

What if I purchase my energy from a supplier?

If you purchase your electricity supply from a supplier, it's important you review your agreement with your supplier or ask potential suppliers while you're shopping to determine any cost savings they offer in time-of-use supply costs. 

How do I apply for the time-of-use pricing option?

If you think you would benefit from the time-of-use pricing option, please call us at 800.572.1111. Please keep in mind any change to your pricing option requires a minimum of one year on the new pricing option. 

Learn More

For more information about the Time-of-Use rate including peak and off-peak hours, please read our informational brochure (PDF).