Electric Time Of Day Results For Me

So in Hawaii, we get reasonable solar from the sun. We also have a growing amount of solar capacity, so our rates were cheapest during the 9am to 5pm period. Then the most expensive rate was 5pm to 9pm and slightly less 9pm to 9am. I assume that the increases were based upon them having to store energy and then offload it at night.

So my savings with solar helped, but because my system is not correctly aligned yet, and we have smoke/vog and overcast I have had to buy electric overnight at times. Solar has still helped my lower my usage from $280 a month to $89 a month many months.

So anyway, here is the email I just received and it explains what is happening with Time Of Day rates out here. Other utilitiy companys may differ.


Aloha,

We’d like to thank you for taking part in the Shift and Save pilot program, which tested time-varied rates over the course of a year. Your participation in this program allowed us to study whether the program could benefit all Hawaiian Electric customers.

After providing data from the pilot to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), the PUC noted in a May 21 order that time-of-use (TOU) rates “did not achieve the goals of meaningfully shifting electricity use to daytime hours and empowering customers to save money.”

Results of the 1-year pilot were mixed:

  • Residents enrolled in the program used less electricity in the evening when energy was most expensive, but the decrease was minimal – about 3%.
  • There was no marked increase in energy use among residential customers during the daytime when energy was cheaper.
  • Customers who worked a typical 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule outside of the home were more likely to be dissatisfied with Shift and Save because shifting more of their energy use to daytime was difficult.

The purpose of the pilot was to test how these rates would work in real life in households and businesses, and with your help we have successfully obtained detailed data on customer energy usage related to time-varied price signals, which can help inform future decisions about TOU rates.

Even if you have already opted out of TOU rates, please know that your participation was extremely helpful. All participants were on the cutting edge of an important research project that has broad implications for customers today and in the future.

If you’re still enrolled in TOU rates, you will continue to be served on those rates unless you opt out or unless otherwise ordered by the PUC. To opt out, simply go to (URL DELETED), click on the “Decline Participation” button, and submit the Decline Participation form. Please note that once you opt out, you cannot return because the program is closed to customer enrollment. The bill comparison tool, which can show what your bill would look like if you were to opt out, remains available on the My Energy Use portal. Information on how to use the My Energy Use portal can be found at (PORTAL URL DELETED).

Mahalo,

Brendan Bailey
Vice President, Customer Service

Interesting that people used 3% less in the evenings but not 3% more at other times. Save but not shift.

I signed up for Time of Use years ago when I was a stay-at-home mom of a toddler. Expensive times were 6am-10am & 5pm-9pm, mid-rate was 10am-5pm, and cheapest was 9pm-6am & Sundays & holidays. Since we had a gas furnace and no AC, our major uses were water heater, refrigerator, cooking and laundry. I tried cooking for the week on Sundays so that we could just microwave the food for dinners, and doing more laundry on Sundays, but then we’re spending 1 of the 2 days per week we have together as a family doing chores and not going out to have fun just so we could save a few pennies on electricity. It seemed like I spent a lot of mental energy planning my electric use and feeling constrained by having limited times and options. Never noticed any savings in the electric bills. So I opted out after a few months.

In my case, I decided not to have the whole electric service panel capable of solar, but could switch individual loads to solar at will. If I wanted, I could wire the over to switch from utility to solar if I needed to cook during the expensive electric time of day.

My system allows me to use the electric utility as I wish. If cloudy and I want to charge the batteries from the grid, I can ALso the system can be set to switch over to the grid automatically if the batteries get low. It can also charge the batteries up 10% over that value from the sun when it come out. There are all sorts of options I can use. This is in stark contrast to before solar when the power could go out for even a day or two.

I also have a propane/gasonline generator I can use to supply power to the inverter to run the house or charge the batteries if there is no solar power.

Since we get earthquakes here (I have been through a couple 6.9’s and a 6.2 all within 25 miles of me) I prefer to have options for emergencies and outages.

How is community solar working elsewhere?

This was just posted about community solar farms here. In some places it was “Not In MY Backyard” also. It seems as though home solar is still the best bet.

Community Solar Farms Meant To Save Money Fail To Gain Traction In Hawaiʻi