Emily A. from Laredo TX. CPS Energy in San Antonio just changed their TOU-GSD schedule peak hours again - now 3pm to 7pm instead of 2pm to 8pm during summer months. This is the third change in two years. How do you keep track of these moving targets when advising clients? The rate comparison gets completely thrown off every time they adjust the time periods.
Time-of-Use Rate Schedules - Peak Hours Keep Changing
Jorge M. here in San Antonio. Emily, you're right about CPS changing frequently. The new 3-7pm peak actually helps customers who can't avoid the evening hours. But they also added a "super peak" from 4-6pm on weekdays with even higher rates - Schedule TOU-GSD-SP. It's $0.18/kWh during super peak vs $0.14/kWh regular peak. Makes load shifting even more critical.
Randy here. The key is to set up tracking systems for tariff changes. I maintain a spreadsheet with current TOU periods for every major utility in our region, plus effective dates for any pending changes. Most utilities file tariff amendments 30-60 days before changes take effect. Emily, for CPS specifically, they post tariff updates on their website under "Regulatory Filings." The challenge is that peak periods often shift seasonally too - summer peaks different from winter peaks. Always check both the time periods AND the seasonal definitions when modeling TOU rates.
Hector R. in El Paso TX. El Paso Electric has been more stable with their TOU-GS schedule - 1pm to 7pm peak year-round. But they just filed to split it into summer (June-Sept) 1-7pm and winter (Oct-May) 6-9am plus 6-9pm. Trying to capture both morning and evening peaks in winter. Makes the rate analysis much more complex when you have different peak windows by season.
Dean G. from Lubbock. Xcel Energy here went to a 4-tier TOU system last year. Off-peak, shoulder, peak, and critical peak. Critical peak only kicks in during grid emergencies (maybe 10-15 days per year) but it's $0.45/kWh. Customers get day-ahead notice by email and text. Really makes backup generation look attractive for critical loads.
Jennifer C. in Anchorage AK. Different issue up here - Chugach Electric has winter peak TOU from 7-11am and 5-9pm because of heating loads. Summer has no peak period at all. Completely opposite of Lower 48 patterns. Makes it hard to use standard TOU models and advice. Anyone else dealing with heating-driven peak periods?
Janet A. in Tacoma WA. Jennifer, Puget Sound Energy has similar winter heating peaks. Their Schedule 31 has winter peaks 6-10am and 6-10pm, summer peaks 7am-noon and 5-8pm. The seasonal flip is dramatic. We model it as essentially two different rate schedules. Customer education is critical - they need to understand peak periods change with the calendar.
Greg L. in Indianapolis IN. Duke Energy Indiana keeps threatening to revise their TOU periods but hasn't pulled the trigger yet. Current Schedule RT is 11am-7pm peak. Rumor is they want to split into 11am-2pm and 5-8pm to encourage midday solar usage. The gap would be when solar production peaks. Smart grid data is driving these changes.
Norm R. in Des Moines IA. MidAmerican Energy just added a "shoulder" period to their TOU rates - off-peak, shoulder (9am-2pm and 8pm-10pm), and peak (2pm-8pm). Shoulder rate is between off-peak and peak pricing. Creates more gradual transitions but makes the math harder. Three-tier TOU is becoming more common as utilities get better load data.
Joanne P. from Rapid City SD. Black Hills Energy here still has very simple TOU - just peak (1pm-9pm) and off-peak everything else. No seasonal changes, no shoulders, no critical peaks. Sometimes simpler is better for customer understanding. But I suspect they'll complicate it eventually like everyone else seems to be doing.
Thanks for all the examples everyone! Seems like utilities everywhere are tinkering with TOU periods as they get more data. Randy's tracking spreadsheet idea is great - I'm going to set one up. The seasonal variations and multiple peak periods definitely make client education much harder. Emily A.