Peak and Off-Peak Hours: How They Affect Your Electric Bill

You can slow a rising electric bill without sacrificing comfort or using less power. The key is taking advantage of time-of-use (TOU) electric rates and shifting your energy consumption to off-peak periods.

Understanding and planning around your utility company's TOU plan can work to your advantage, especially if you already use home solar panels, home batteries, or an EV charger. Here are several methods to save money by utilizing time-of-use or peak electricity rates.

What are time-of-use plans?

Time-of-use (TOU) plans set the price per kilowatt-hour you pay for electricity based on when you use that electricity. Typically, electricity is most expensive when demand is highest or energy is most expensive to produce and least expensive when demand is lowest.

Ready to work those peak hours to your advantage? The free Palmetto app can show you exactly when you're using energy, help you shift usage to cheaper hours, and rewards you with points for beating your weekly targets — turning TOU rates from confusing to profitable.

What are peak electricity hours?

Peak electricity hours are when electricity is in high demand and most expensive. These hours can vary by location, season, electricity company, and more.

This can help reduce peak demand on the electricity grid. If demand exceeds the supply of electricity, blackouts can occur. When people shift their electricity use from the peak, it’s easier to meet the moments of highest demand.

What are off-peak electricity hours?

Off-peak electricity hours are when the electricity demand is low and electricity is cheaper. During these times, it’s easier (and often cheaper) to generate enough electricity to meet demand..

What are super off-peak hours?

Some electric companies create time-of-use plans with a third level called super off-peak hours. During these hours, electricity prices and demand are at their lowest.

Super off-peak hours are even more of an incentive to shift energy usage.

Why do companies use peak and off-peak hours for electricity?

Time-of-use rates aim to shift when energy is consumed and level out the overall peaks and valleys of demand on the grid.

In some cases when demand surges too high, utilities may have to institute rolling blackouts: shutting off power to part of the grid to forcibly reduce demand. Time-of-use rates, which encourage voluntary demand reduction, can help avoid those more drastic measures.

Even before that stage, TOU rates can help keep electricity cleaner and cheaper. Utilities often rely on small power plants to meet the last portion of the highest peak demand. These “peaker plants” are often the most expensive and dirtiest power plants to run. Shifting demand can allow utilities to avoid using these peaker plants, reducing expenses and pollution.

Other helpful technology include battery storage, which can store cheap clean solar energy and use it to meet peak demand later in the day. Even home batteries, smart thermostats, and EV chargers, when they're joined together in a virtual power plant, can help meet the demand during peak hours.

Common hours for peak and off-peak electricity

Peak and off-peak electricity hours can vary with season, location, and utility company.

Summer peak hours are often late in the afternoon, when people get home from work, high temperatures still require a lot of air conditioning, and solar production starts to wane for the night. Think any time from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., but usually not that whole time. Off-peak hours are typically overnight.

Winter peak hours are often in the morning and evening, when electric heating is needed and people are getting ready for or winding down from their day. Think any time from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Saturdays and Sundays often count as off-peak periods no matter the season, and some utility companies also include holidays occurring during the week in their off-peak rates.

Here are a few examples from some of the largest utility companies in the country:

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) peak and off-peak hours

E-TOU-C: The electricity peak hours are from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. every day, with off-peak hours before 4 p.m. and after 9 p.m.

E-TOU-D: Peak hours are from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Friday (except most holidays) and off-peak hours are before 5 p.m. and after 8 p.m. Monday-Friday and all hours on weekends and most holidays.

E-ELEC: E-ELEC is the only TOU plan eligible with solar for PG&E customers in California’s NEM 3.0 net billing credit program. The peak hours are 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. every day.

Southern California Edison (SCE) peak and off-peak hours

TOU-D-4-9PM: In the summer (June to September) during the week, on-peak hours are 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., with off-peak hours before 4 p.m. and after 9 p.m.

TOU-D-5-8PM: This plan has on-peak hours from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. during the week, with off-peak hours after 8 p.m. and before 5 p.m.

TOU-D-PRIME: This rate is designed specifically for the owners of electric cars or plug-in hybrids. The summer on-peak hours are from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. during the week.

Duke Energy peak and off-peak hours

R-TOU: On weekdays from May-September, on-peak rates are from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Off-peak periods are all periods not in the on-peak or discount periods.

Florida Power & Light (FPL) peak and off-peak hours

FPL has electricity peak hours Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. from November through March.

Georgia Power peak, off-peak, and super off-peak hours

Georgia Power has several rate plans that have on-peak periods between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Monday through Friday from June through September.

Saving money with a time-of-use plan

Saving money with a time-of-use plan requires shifting electricity use from peak hours to off-peak hours.

You can take steps to maximize your savings by scheduling your electric vehicle to charge overnight, and some utilities’ rates give specific incentives to do this. Using high-energy home appliances outside of peak periods, scheduling your smart thermostat, and using smart or scheduling functions on appliances let you shift energy use to off-peak times.

Should you sign up for a time-of-use plan?

It can pay to look into your utility’s TOU plans. Switching to a time-of-use plan may be a good idea if you can schedule your appliances to run during off-peak hours, especially heat pumps or air conditioners, dryers, water heaters, and dishwashers.

Frequently asked questions

What are time-of-use rates?

Time-of-use rates are electric rates based on the time a consumer uses electricity. Typically, electricity is most expensive when demand is highest or energy is most expensive to produce.

Will I save money with time-of-use rates?

The answer depends on the habits of the people living in your home. If you can shift larger energy uses to off-peak hours, you can save.

How can I avoid using electricity during peak hours?

There are many ways to shift electricity use away from peak hours. You may be able to do some chores a little earlier or a little later than usual, especially if you can schedule your washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, or EV charger.