FAYPWC.COM
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Frequently Asked Questions – Time-of-Use

What are Time of Use Rates

You will pay different rates for electricity based on when you use it.  Rates are lower when it costs us less to provide electricity and they go up when both the demand and cost for electricity increase. 

Why the change?

This new structure mirrors how we’re billed by Duke Energy, from whom we purchase our power. We are charged each month for the energy we use (kWh) and the demand or capacity which is Duke being able to provide energy when we have the highest demand or use.    Annually we pay Duke about $140 Million for power and the demand/capacity is around $80 million of that or 57% of that cost so reducing our demand or our use during those peak times can reduce costs significantly.

How is PWC passing that savings to customers?

Passing that saving opportunity on our customers, Time-of-Use Rates can lower electric bills when you conserve and shift consumption from Peak to Off-Peak hours when rates for electricity used during Off-Peak hours are 35% lower than during peak times.  In fact the off-peak rate is actually 10% less expensive than the current flat rate that PWC charges.

When are the Peak hours?

On-Peak hours will happen only four hours of the day, while Off-Peak will be 20 hours each day as well as weekends and holidays.

Because the demand for electricity changes depending on the seasons of the year, Peak hours are different in the summer and winter months. 

  • In the summer, Peak Hours are in the afternoon from 3 pm-7 pm on weekdays
  • In the winter, Peak Hours are in the morning, from 6 am-10 am on weekdays

What is the exact On & Off Peak Rate for residential customers

On-Peak: $0.130 kWh
Off-Peak: $0.08473 kWh

How does PWC know the hours I use my power?

Unlike older/traditional electric meters that PWC read once a month, PWC advanced meters record your usage hourly. 

Why does one of my meter readings show decimals and the other does not?

Meter readings less than 1 kWh, have  been shown as a fraction or decimal on your bill.  Due to the transition to Time-of-Use Rates, PWC is no longer using decimals in the calculation of your electric bill.  During the transition, you may see a decimal on  your beginning meter reading and whole numbers your ending meter read.  Going forward all your  meter readings will be whole numbers. 

My On Peak Usage was zero.  How is this possible when there are four hours in the day that are On Peak?

The electric meter provides readings for your total usage and also provides hourly detail of when that power was used.  Complete hourly detail may not always be available at the time of billing, and so customers are billed at the lowest (off-peak)  rate for any kWh used when hourly detail is not available.

Typical Household Hourly Load Profile

Find your load profile (hourly usage dashboard) as well as daily and monthly comparisons on the Online Account Manager.