Higher summer NV Energy bill? Time-of-use pricing might be the reason - Reno Gazette Journal

Higher summer NV Energy bill? Time-of-use pricing might be the reason
Mark Robison

- A voluntary "time of use" program can save NV Energy customers 30% off their bill by minimizing usage from 3 to 9 p.m. in summer months.
- But during that late afternoon and evening window from June through September, electricity prices are 4 times higher than off-peak and winter rates.
- NV Energy estimates Northern Nevada bills are $20 less than they would've been if not for a delay in the timing of normal rate adjustments linked to a spike in natural gas prices last year.

If you're feeling pain from this summer's electric bills, you can save money by switching to what NV Energy calls a “time of use” plan – but watch out because if you forget you have it, you're in for a shock.

That happened to one reader who wrote in confused about how her previous bill went up 91% even though her usage dropped 1%.

I contacted Meghin Delaney with NV Energy to find out what happened to this reader’s bill and how summer pricing works.

How NV Energy’s ‘time of use’ rate plan works

Residential customers living in a single-family home currently pay about 13.2 cents per kilowatt hour year-round.

If they switch to a voluntary “time of use” plan, they’ll pay much more during peak summer hours: 38.6 cents per kilowatt hour.

But in exchange for that usage penalty during peak hours – 3:01 to 9 p.m. daily June through September – they’ll get a big break during summer off hours as well as throughout the rest of the year: about 8.7 cents per kilowatt hour.

That means if you can avoid using big electricity guzzlers like dishwashers and air-conditioners during the peak summer hours – when there’s a strain on the electrical grid as people try to keep their homes and businesses cool – you can save a lot of money.

As Delaney points out, about 92% of each year’s hours fit into off-peak or winter periods.

“If a customer can shift their usage into these periods, they can save significantly on their electricity bill,” she said by email.

“For example, the rate charged to customers from 9:01 p.m. to 3 p.m. is 30% lower than what non-time-of-use customers pay at those times. Similarly, for all usage from October through May, a residential customer on the optional time-of-use schedule will pay rates that are also 30% less than if they did not participate in the time-of-use option.”

Why this reader’s bill was such a shock

What happened to the reader is that she didn’t notice NV Energy's mail and email announcements that it had changed the summer-pricing schedule.

It used to go from July through October. Starting this year, it switched to June through September. So she was paying 38.6 cents per kilowatt hour in late afternoon and evening when she was used to paying about 8.7 cents – more than four times her normal “time of use” plan rate.

NV Energy offers a guarantee that if customers haven’t saved money after completing a full year in the program, it’ll compensate them for the difference and return them to the regular rate plan, Delaney said.

For electric vehicle owners who charge their cars during off-peak hours, they can get an additional discount.

Other recent changes to electric bills

The reader also asked about other bill changes. There are two factors to note.

The first is that NV Energy reported the cost it pays for natural gas to generate electricity rose more than 70% last year.

It passes along this cost increase – without mark-up – to customers, and then recovers the higher prices it paid in the past by filing quarterly rate adjustments with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada.

Although electric bills will rise more down the road thanks to that 2022 spike in natural gas prices, NV Energy got approval to delay the normal timeline for passing along that increase in order to offset the fact that bills often rise in summer because of higher usage.

It estimates that Northern Nevada customers will pay about $20 less a month in July, August and September than they would have without this pause. Come October, another rate adjustment will kick in.

To learn more and sign up for NV Energy’s “time of use” program, visit nvenergy.com/account-services/energy-pricing-plans/time-of-use.

NV Energy on summer: 'It’s gonna be a higher bill. I don't want to sugarcoat that.'

More: Why is NV Energy charging more for natural gas when prices are falling?

Mark Robison covers local government for the Reno Gazette-Journal. His wages are 100% funded by donations and grants; his journalism is done in the public good and always free for all to read. If you’d like to see more stories like this one, please consider donating at RGJ.com/donate.

Email comments to mrobison@rgj.com or comment on Mark’s Greater Reno Facebook page.