Georgia Power Nights and Weekends - Finally a bill!

As promised, I wanted to follow up with actual results from signing up for the Georgia Power Time of Use (Nights and Weekends) program. As stated before, the deal is that you pay $0.04 per kwh during the off-peak months, but on-peak months (June-September), you pat $0.18 per kwh on Monday-Friday from 2PM-7PM. Other than that, it is $0.04. This is compared to spending $0.045 per kwh for the first 650 kwh per month and then about $0.075 per kwh for anything above that.

The incentive of Nights & Weekends is to "shift" usage in addition to reducing usage. Peak hours for power companies are the hottest hours of the year when all business are running. These are the hours where power companies start running out of capacity and have to expand. So their thought is if they charge more, you'll shift your usage to a time when the grid isn't strained.

So here are my results:



Last month, my bill contained 29 days (29 peak days and 8 off peak).
I used 132kwh of peak usage and 1,109kwh of off-peak usage for a total of 1,241 kwh. My bill, not including taxes, surcharges, or other fees using the Nights and Weekends program was $67.18.

Had I been on the normal plan, my bill would have been $75.63. Savings was $8.46 or 11%. My total bill of course was much higher, but totally related to the other fees (taxes, fuel surcharge of around $0.04 per kwh, regulatory fees, etc.).

But here's the thing. I work during the week and don't usually get home until around 6PM. I don't use any lights during that time and don't usually turn on the lights until close to 7. The A/C is at 80 while I'm gone and around 76-78 until after 7. I don't use the washer/dryer/dishwasher, etc. during peak hours and try not to use the oven if possible. The stove is gas.

So, with all of that in mind, I looked at my avg consumption during peak hours vs. off-peak. During peak hours, I averaged 1.26kw (which is the number of kwh I used dived by the number of peak hours). During off-peak hours, I averaged 1.88kw. So basically, I used 50% more energy in the off-peak hours vs. the peak hours. Partially because I was barely home during those hours and partially because I made a conscious effort to shift usage.

Assuming I hadn't shifted any usage and had used 1.88kw during peak hours as well, I would have only saved 2.7%. And what is worse, is that had I not shifted usage, my usage during peak hours would have probably been higher than off-peak because those are the hottest hours of the day and the A/C would have been running like crazy.

The good news is this: GA Power is offering you savings if you're willing to pitch in and do your part. This a great program for those that work or travel during the week. Not great for the work from home and stay at home moms/dads that want to use lights, A/C, washer/dryer etc during the day.