With the introduction of smart meters across Illinois, consumers have more options when it comes to how they use and pay for electricity. ComEd’s new Time-of-Day Pricing Program—which charges different electric rates during different periods of the day—is one such option.
So how does the Time-of-Day program work?
Most customers pay a default supply rate that is fixed and does not change throughout the day. The Time-of-Day program is a dynamic rate, which means the price changes throughout the day. Hourly Pricing is another dynamic pricing program offered by ComEd that saves customers an average of 15 percent on the supply portion of their bill.
For customers who sign up for ComEd’s Time-of-Day program, the day is divided into three sections, each with a different rate: “Off-Peak,” “Peak,” and “Super Peak.” The price is lowest during the “Off-Peak” period, and highest during the “Super Peak” period.
Time-of-Day Summer Rates (June-September 2020, per kilowatt-hour):
- Off-Peak (10pm-6am): 1.70 cents/kWh
- Peak (6am-2pm and 7pm-10pm): 2.925 cents/kWh
- Super Peak (2-7pm): 13.898 cents/kWh
What are the benefits of the program?
The idea of dynamic pricing plans, like a time-of-use rate, is to encourage people to use electricity during off-peak times. That has a number of benefits:
- By putting off heavy electricity usage until the rate is lower, participants can lower their electric bills!
- Reducing electricity usage during peak times reduces demand during those times, and that can lower market prices for everyone.
- Shifting usage away from peak times reduces stress on the power grid, leading to better reliability.
- If peak demand is reduced, polluting power plants don’t have to work as hard and new plants don’t need to be built. So such programs can help reduce pollution.
Although a time-of-use rate offers the opportunity to save money without reducing your power usage, energy efficiency combined with a time-of-use plan can significantly increase savings.
Where can I learn more and sign up?
The program is part of a 4-year pilot to study how customers respond to price signals. The program is capped at 1,900 customers.
Learn more about the Time-of-Day program by visiting ComEd’s program page or by reading CUB’s fact sheet. Interested customers are encouraged to enroll online, though the program can also be contacted by calling 1-800-334-7661 (Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm) or emailing [email protected].