NVEnergy Time of Use - Don’t Do it

NVEnergy has a Time of Use program that allows you to get an alternative billing plan where you pay more during peak hours and less during off-peak hours. They show you a nice graph showing how you would have saved (or not) over the past year based on your usage. In my case, there was serveral $100s in savings. The problem is the timing.

The Rates

First, let's dive into the rates. When trying to sell you on this program on their website, they don't include the rates in any easy to find way.

The standard rate in Southern Nevada is 11 cents per Kilowatt Hour. On a hot summer day, I use about 110 KwH, as I work from home (and my 2HP pool filter runs 8 hours). This is about $12/day.

When you sign up for Time of Use (TOU), these are the rates:

So you save 4 cents off-peak, and pay a 38 cent premium during "peak". hours which is 6pm to 9pm. During those hours, my pool filter is off and it's a shade cooler than 4pm, so I'm using about 6 Kwh per hour.

So with the standard rate, my cost for this period is $1.98.
With the TOU rates, my cost would be $8.82.

Now I'm only saving 4 cents per KwH the rest of the day, so that's 92 x .04; I'm only saving $3.68 off-peak.

With TOU my cost: 15.25
Without TOU: $12

As if your summer energy bill isn't high enough; with TOU I'd be paying $90 more if temps stay around 104; when they get to 115 it will be much more. Now of course if you're in this program you will probably change your behavior. Maybe program your Nest thermostat to cool your home to 78 insetad of 74 during these hours. Maybe program the outdoor lights to come on a 9pm instead of 8pm. You could knock off a KwH per houer, but the bill is still way higher. And who wants to live like that?

Beware if you Sign Up

After enrolling, you'll get an email telling you that your application has been received and that you'll be notified when.it's been approved. Except there is no notification. Expect that the new pricing will begin the next day.

Don't Do it

If you're asking yourself if you should switch to TOU service, the answer is "Don't Do it", at least not now. Here's why.

The way that it's structured, you'll save a few dollars from October to May, but you'll pay A LOT MORE in the summer. So you're paying more all summer, and it will take you a year to get the money back and realize any savings.

Opt-In in October

According to my chart, I'd pay about $400 more in the summer, and save $600 from October to May.

Given the say it works, it makes no sense to opt in now, even if you're on "Equal Pay", because who knows how they'll calculate that when it comes time for the adjustment. The strategy is to opt-in in October, so you'll be getting yoru savings FIRST, rather than paying NVEnergy now and making back the money you paid over a 9 month period.