Alaska’s largest electric utility is rolling out a program that could incentivize customers to shift their energy use.
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Instead of being charged a standard rate 24-hours a day, Chugach Electric’s Time-of-Use Pilot Program will have two different energy prices depending on when it’s used. Most electric utilities offer at least one time-variable pricing option, according to the Department of Energy.
The utility has more than 90,000 members in Southcentral and spokesperson Julie Hasquet said they’ve been asking for this change.
“It helps us also understand how members do respond to time-based pricing, and whether it can help reduce demand during periods of higher electric use,” she said.
The pilot program will only impact the “energy charge” on a member’s monthly bill. Right now, that fee is about 16 cents per-kilowatt hour, although with other charges included, members ultimately pay about 24.4 cents/kWh.
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The pilot program will lower that fee to 10.833 cents during off-peak hours – 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. During peak-hours, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., the charge will increase to 21.595 cents.
That means lower bills aren’t a guarantee, Hasquet said.
“If you opt-in to that program and you don’t do the majority of your power usage later, you’re going to end up paying more versus if you stayed out of the program altogether,” Hasquet said.
The pilot program may be beneficial to members who can shift heavy electricity use to overnight hours, she said, like charging electric vehicles.
The pilot project will run for five years and will be available to 1,000 members: 500 residential and 500 small commercial. Applications open Oct. 1.
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