The Electric Company announced that they will be opening up a new billing plan for residential customers, and I am trying to decipher it and figure out if it is worthwhile.
First of all, there is a monthly fee to join - 15.80 NIS monthly for the special meter.
Then there will be a different rate for peak and off-peak times. Peak and off-peak times vary throughout the year. It looks like this:
Month Peak Hours Rate Increase for Peak Usage Discount - Off-Peak
January 4-10 PM 126% of regular rate 25% discount
February 4-10 PM 126% of regular rate 25% discount
March 8AM-10PM base rate + 2.1 % 29.3% discount
April 8AM-10PM base rate + 2.1 % 29.3% discount
May 8AM-10PM base rate + 2.1 % 29.3% discount
June 8AM-10PM base rate + 2.1 % 29.3% discount
July 10AM-5PM 149% of regular rate 24% discount
August 10AM-5PM 149% of regular rate 24% discount
September 8AM-10PM base rate + 2.1 % 29.3% discount
October 8AM-10PM base rate + 2.1 % 29.3% discount
November 8AM-10PM base rate + 2.1 % 29.3% discount
December 4-10 PM 126% of regular rate 25% discount
Right now, I am trying to figure out how worthwhile it would be to sign up for a plan like this. What do you think?
I'd love to hear your ideas about this. If this could actually save me money, I'm in!
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If you are home most of the day I do not think it is worth it. There was something like this in England - the idea is you set your boiler, washing machine, dishwasher to work when it is cheaper. Looks too complicated for me. I would be worried that I would actually spend more with this.
ReplyDeleteI was actually wondering if it would end up costing me more! I can handle running the washing machine at night, but sometimes we need the heat on during the day or evening. and the freezer is always plugged in. And I run the dishwasher once during the day and once at night. I think I want to pretend that I'm on the plan for a month and see how many things I can actually move to off-peak without signing up. Then maybe I can make a better decision... (this may require me to monitor our electric meter closely, but being more conscious of our usage is probably a good thing!)
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I discussed this. We are not using it because I work from home and need to use electricity during peak hours
ReplyDeleteI hear ya. And that's the biggest thing holding me back, I homeschool and we're home more than many families.
ReplyDeleteBut, that being said, we are not huge energy consumers during the day. I often run the washing machine at night, and the dishwasher as well. I don't have a dryer (yet - debating that) but if I did, I see no reason I couldn't run it at night. We dress warmly and rarely run the heat. During the summer I try not to run the A/C. (I'd rather just get outside and get our minds off the heat using other methods)
We don't turn on lots of lights during the day, as we have many windows and even a skylight that let lots of natural light in.
The biggest things would be - the computers and the kettle, toaster oven, and regular oven. We use those during the day. The question is, is our usage pattern such that we could save money with this plan EVEN THOUGH we're home a lot during the day?
Food for thought...