Most utilities are pushing time-of-use programs. They want you to shift your load. It saves them money. It can save you money too. But it requires a change in habit.
Take Raleigh, NC. Carolina Power and Light (CP&L) runs a time-of-use plan. It is a simple example. Every utility is different. But the logic holds up elsewhere.
The Cost Difference
You probably pay a flat rate right now. Let’s say 7.4 cents per kilowatt-hour. Use 1,000 kWh in a month. You pay $74. Plus taxes. Simple.
Time-of-use changes the math. They install a special meter. It tracks when you use power. The rate changes based on the clock.
CP&L uses two periods. On-peak. Off-peak.
In summer (April to September), on-peak is 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays. Everything else is off-peak. Nights. Weekends. Vacations. Cheap power.
Winter hours shift slightly. On-peak runs 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Weekdays only.
The goal is to flatten the demand curve. Utilities hate peaks.
The Two Plans
CP&L offers two tracks. The simpler one costs $9.85 a month. Then you pay per kWh.
- On-peak rate: 14.5 cents/kWh
- Off-peak rate: 2.9 cents/kWh
That gap is huge. Off-peak power is dirt cheap. You have an incentive to move consumption.
Do laundry at night. Run the dishwasher before bed. Take evening showers. It is not a huge inconvenience. Most people can handle it.
Do The Math
Let’s look at a 1,000 kWh month. Assume 333 kWh are on-peak. 667 kWh are off-peak.
- On-peak cost: 333 * $0.145 = $48.29
- Off-peak cost: 667 * $0.029 = $19.34
- Monthly fee: $9.85
Total: $77.48. Wait. That’s more than the flat rate example ($74).
Let’s adjust the split. If you shift more load. Say 200 kWh on-peak. 800 kWh off-peak.
- On-peak: $29.00
- Off-peak: $23.20
- Fee: $9.85
Total: $62.05. That is a savings of $11.95 (16%).
The article cited a $64.83 total for a specific mix, saving $9.17 (12%). The point stands. If you shift load, you save. If you don’t, you pay more.
Will It Work For You?
Three factors decide if this plan works for your home.
1. Your Monthly Usage
If you use less than 700 kWh a month, skip it. The $9.85 fee eats your savings. You need high volume to make the math work. Check your bills. Look at the kWh numbers.
2. Your Major Appliances
Not all loads are equal. You can’t easily control a refrigerator. It runs 24/7. It stays on.
But a dryer? You control that. A water heater? You control that. Electric dryers and heaters are heavy users. Shifting them to off-peak hours moves the needle.
If your home runs on electricity for heat and water, you have more to gain. Gas appliances don’t care about time-of-use.
3. Your Tolerance for Inconvenience
This is the real barrier. Can you wait until 9 p.m. to start laundry? Can you turn off the AC at 2 p.m. when it’s 95 degrees outside?
If that stresses you out, the discount isn’t worth it. You will fight the meter. You will revert to flat-rate habits. Then you pay the premium.
Why Utilities Do This
Why do they offer lower rates? They don’t. They need you to pay for the infrastructure.
Power companies cannot store electricity. It must be used as it is generated.
Summer afternoons are brutal. Everyone turns on AC. The grid strains. The utility must build enough plants to handle that peak.
But that capacity sits idle at 3 a.m. It sits idle on mild days. Building that extra capacity costs millions. It generates little income when it sits unused.
It is cheaper to give you a discount than to build a new plant. They want to even out the load. They want to smooth the peaks.
A time-of-use program shifts some of that peak load to off-peak hours. You get lower rates. They avoid building a new power plant. Everyone wins.
Except if you hate waiting to do laundry. Then you
