Time of Use Billing. Central Hudson Gas & Electric.

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Time of Use Billing

How does time-of-use billing work?
Customers who use time-of-use billing have special meters installed at their homes that measure how much and when electricity is used. Customers are billed on-peak and off-peak rates for the Energy delivery charge, and on and off-peak rates for the Market Price Charge and Market Price Adjustment. Participants will receive an annual letter that compare total charges for their usage under the Time-of-Use and standard rates.

What are the peak hours?
Customers can choose from three time periods for their weekday, on-peak usage: 1) 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., 2) 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., or 3) 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The on-peak and off-peak rates are the same for all three periods. All weekends and six major holidays per year (New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas) are considered off-peak.

What is the difference between the two rates?
The chart below compares on- and off-peak charges under the Time-of-Use program, and standard residential electric charges:

Billing Line Items	Time-of-Use Charges	Standard Residential Charges
Customer Charge	$21.00	$18.00
Energy Delivery charge, per kwh	x	4,691 cents
On-peak energy delivery charge	7.892 cents	n/a
Off-peak energy delivery charge	2.630 cents	n/a
Base MFC Administration Charge	0.081 cents	Not currently on Web Site
Base MFC Supply Charge	0.152 cents	Not currently on Web Site
Electric Bill Credit	-0.345 cents	Not currently on Web Site
NYS Assessment	0.240 cents	Not currently on Web Site
Market Price Changes	x	Market supply charges
On-peak market price charge	118 percent of standard charge	n/a
Off-peak market price charge	87 percent of standard charge	n/a

All other billing charges that apply to both standard and Time-of-Use rates are the same.

How does Central Hudson calculate the peak and off-peak charges?
Using historical supply prices and load research data to understand how each type of customer uses electricity, Central Hudson calculated price usage ratios. The time-of-use rates are expressed as percentages of the standard residential supply rate, which changes each month, in contrast to delivery rates which are stable and set through regulatory procedures wtih New York state.

Will this save money on my bill?
It is a significant commitment to limit energy to the off-peak period. In order for customers to realize a savings, they must use almost 75 percent of their electricity during off-peak hours. Even if customers can change their lifestyle to fit one of the off-peak time periods, only a few days of elevated on-peak usage could eliminate any potential savings. Customers may be able to limit their on-peak use during one season, however varying weather conditions and daylight changes may make it difficult during others.

Using base delivery rates effective 7/1/09 and ECAM rates effective 10/13/09:

Total Monthly usage, kwh	500 kwh	750 kwh	1,000 kwh	1,500 kwh	2,000 kwh
Percent to be used during off-peak hours to breakeven	67 percent	64 percent	63 percent	62 percent	61 percent

For example, a resident enrolled in the Time-of-Use program using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month and shifting 68 percent of their electricity use to off-peak hours will pay the same amount under standard residential electric service and the Time-of-Use program. Using more electricity during off-peak hours will provide savings as compared to the standard rates, while using less than 68 percent will result in higher charges.

To illustrate, a resident using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month and shifting 75 percent of their usage to off-peak hours will save approximately four percent over standard residential rates. If this same resident were to shift only 60 percent of the usage to off-peak hours, the charges will be about four percent higher than standard residential rates.

Can I sign up for a short time and then switch back to standard residential rate?
Customers must sign on for a minimum of one year.

How do you sign up?
Call Central Hudson at (845) 452-2700 or (800) 527-2714. Starting the program must coincide with a new billing cycle and the installation of a new time-of-use meter at their residence. Click here for the application (PDF).

What about other types of customers?
Large electric-usage customers are required to participate in the Company’s hourly pricing program when purchasing supply from Central Hudson, which is different than time-of-use billing. Medium size commercial and industrial customers can opt for the hourly pricing program.