Time of Use

While the cost for Traverse City Light and Power to purchase and deliver electricity to Traverse City homes can vary from hour to hour, under the current rates, these costs are averaged over a year to produce a single flat rate.

But there’s a better way! You can pay less for electricity when it costs less to make. These are called time-of-use rates. You have the ability to save money by using less electricity when it’s more expensive.

Time-of-use (TOU) plans can help you manage your energy costs. By taking advantage of lower rates during off-peak periods, you can avoid higher rates when energy resources are in demand.

Shift activities like laundry, dishwashing, and charging your electric vehicle to off-peak hours to maximize your savings.

Customers are charged a higher electric rate when the cost of purchasing and delivering electricity is highest (usually afternoon to early evening) and a lower electric rate when the cost of generating electricity is lower (usually late evening and early morning).

The time-of-use rates are designed to be revenue-neutral for the average customer. However, if you are able to shift your electric usage to outside of peak hours, you have the ability to reduce your electric bills.

Residential 

Soon to be available to single-family residences, individually metered dwelling units in mobile home courts, apartment buildings, condominiums, and multiple-dwelling units. The major use of electricity is for domestic purposes such as lighting, household appliances, and the comfort and convenience of those residing within.

TCLP will be offering two options to residential customers – Eco Champion and Eco Steady, with peak hours and off-peak hours that vary based on the time of year.

Eco Champion:

Summer (June 1 to September 30)

On- Peak Hours: Monday-Friday, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.; Excludes weekends and federal holidays 

Off-Peak Hours: Monday-Friday, 5 p.m. – 1 p.m.; Includes weekends and federal holidays 

Winter (October 1 to May 31)

On-Peak Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Excludes weekends and federal holidays 

Off-Peak Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 p.m. – 8 a.m.; Includes weekends and federal holidays

Eco Steady:

Summer (June 1 to September 30)

On-Peak Hours: Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Excludes weekends and federal holidays 

Off-Peak Hours: Monday-Friday, 6 p.m. – 11 a.m.; Includes weekends and federal holidays 

Winter (October 1 to May 31)

On-Peak Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Excludes weekends and federal holidays 

Off-Peak Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 p.m. – 8 a.m.; Includes weekends and federal holidays

*Customers would be charged more during the peak hours and less during off-peak hours.

Commercial

TCLP will be offering two options to commercial/general secondary service customers – Eco Champion and Eco Steady, with peak hours and off-peak hours that vary based on the time of year.

Eco Champion:

Summer (June 1 to September 30)

On- Peak Hours: Monday-Friday, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.; Excludes weekends and federal holidays 

Off-Peak Hours: Monday-Friday, 5 p.m. – 1 p.m.; Includes weekends and federal holidays 

Winter (October 1 to May 31)

On-Peak Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Excludes weekends and federal holidays 

Off-Peak Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 p.m. – 8 a.m.; Includes weekends and federal holidays

Eco Steady:

Summer (June 1 to September 30)

On-Peak Hours: Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Excludes weekends and federal holidays 

Off-Peak Hours: Monday-Friday, 6 p.m. – 11 a.m.; Includes weekends and federal holidays 

Winter (October 1 to May 31)

On-Peak Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Excludes weekends and federal holidays 

Off-Peak Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 p.m. – 8 a.m.; Includes weekends and federal holidays

*Customers would be charged more during the peak hours and less during off-peak hours.

Types of Commercial Services:

Commercial/General Secondary Service: Open to any customer desiring secondary voltage service. This rate is not available for auxiliary standby, resale service, or street lighting service.

Commercial Demand/General Secondary Service: Open to any customer desiring secondary voltage service where the billing demand is 5 kW or
more. This rate is not available for street lighting or resale purposes. 

Industrial Service – High-load Factor: Open to any customer desiring primary voltage service for general use where the billing demand is 100 kW or more. This rate is not available for street lighting service or for resale purposes. 

The key with TOU rates is in when you chose to do tasks that consume significant portions of energy.

For those who naturally consume more energy during off-peak hours, they won’t need to alter their behaviors to have the ability to be able to save. For others, they will need to make deliberate choices to shift their electric-consuming activities to the off-peak time frame. This includes doing laundry, operating the dishwasher, or charging their electric vehicle.

Additionally, electric heating and home cooling make up a large chunk of your energy use and your bill. The best way to save on your energy bills is to utilize a smart thermostat to lower your home temp in the winter and raise it during the summer months.

No, the switch to TOU pricing is not a rate increase. The rate structure is designed to generate the same amount of revenue on an annual basis as the normal rate structure. Off-peak prices are lower than the normal residential rate, while on-peak prices are higher. Doing this equals approximately the same amount of revenue, except that now there is more flexibility for customers to control their electric costs.

There are multiple reasons for implementing a time-of-use program.

Environmental 

From an environmental standpoint, it encourages energy conservation. It is also anticipated that shifting more usage to off-peak periods will assist TCLP’s efforts towards decarbonization by moving away from baseload generators using fossil fuels to generate electricity.

Cost 

From a financial perspective, the cost to produce electricity changes throughout the day based on when it is used. When people use more electricity, the cost goes up; when people use less, it goes down. TOU pricing better aligns electricity costs with market prices. Higher customer demands during on-peak hours drive higher costs. This means that prices are lower during off-peak hours when demand and utility costs are also lower.

Traverse City Light and Power also has to pay for capacity (ability to generate electricity) to ensure a steady supply of electricity is provided to its ratepayers. The amount of capacity TCLP is required to have is determined when the utility peaks in electricity consumption, which has historically been mid-July in the afternoon when people are cooling their buildings, offices, or home spaces.  Any reduction in this peak will lower the utility’s cost for capacity and provide savings for both the utility and its ratepayers.

Fairness 

Lastly, it creates fairness by recovering the costs of providing electric service equitably. Those customers who cost more to serve pay more and those customers who cost less to serve pay less.