This summer has been brutally hot, by mid-afternoon you could drown a toddler in my undies (yeah, that’s quite a picture). For the past two months I’ve opened my electric bill with the same nervous look like all the men anxiously waiting to hear Maury Povich tell them they are NOT the father. I know my electric usage stayed the same but my bill kept going up…like a lot. Like hundreds of dollars a lot. I couldn’t understand it, I’m an eco-warrior who turns off lights, has all Energy STAR appliances that I run only where they’re full, and I unplug stuff I don’t use so I’m not running phantom electric. Oh what’s phantom electric you ask? It’s an actual thing, it’s power wasted by devices that are plugged in but not in use – like your TV. Sometimes it is referred to as vampire energy (not sure why) or phantom loads (if ghost porn was a thing then this would be the last 2 minutes).
So all kidding aside, I didn’t raise my electric usage so how is my cost going through my solar panel-covered roof? Well my friends, after some investigating it turns out that much like my dating failures in the 90s the problem isn’t me…it’s them. Without any notification my electric company just decided to increase their rates.
As you probably know by now I’m a bit of a talker (or typer) so I got on the phone with my electric company to get some answers. The representative I spoke with was an absolute doll who felt bad for me and told me about this hidden gem that’s going to change my life.
T.O.U.
Ever heard of it? Nah, me neither, and I was shocked when she told me.
I asked each member of my family what they thought TOU stood for…
My adoring husband: Take Off Underwear
Dark-humored 17-year old daughter: Tunnels Of the Underworld
Social Media obsessed 15-year old daughter: Thinking Of U
Wrong (but I like where this is going), wrong (would it kill you to watch a comedy?), and so wrong that’s not how you even spell it (but honestly I thought the same thing).
Welcome to the wonderful world of Time Of Use (TOU) Rates. Here on Long Island, my electric company gives me the option to switch to a program where I save money when I use electric from 11pm-6am. It’s like the cost difference between riding the train during peak and off-peak hours. I can shift my energy use to a time that energy is less expensive giving me a lower rate. I have an electric car (yes it’s a Tesla and yes I feel superior 😉 ) and I already get a rebate if I charge it during 11pm-6am. But with this new program I switched to, those overnight savings are compounded and if I do nothing else differently then I could save up to $500 over the course of a year. It basically costs them less to provide energy in the middle of the night so it ends up being cheaper for the customer.
So your mileage may vary depending on where you live and what plans are available to you but it’s definitely worth looking into. As an eco-warrior (and a night owl) I plan to do my laundry and run my dishwasher during those hours and save even more money. And as a woman who was born somewhere between 1969 and 1971 I have been blessed with the gift of night sweats. Now I don’t feel so guilty about keeping the air conditioning running all night when we sleep. We still save money and I don’t wake up feeling like I went for a night swim. Not sure if your local electric company has this feature, but you should check their website or give them a call. With a little luck maybe in your house TOU will now stand for Time Of Usage and not That Outrageous Utility.
