That benefits all of our ratepayers and the environment. That peak can be lowered so that there are fewer facilities running at any given time. "There are a certain number of plants in operation.
"You always have to be prepared to meet the demand of your peak period," Lamphear said. The Detroit-based utility is building a new natural gas plant in East China Township that is expected to come online next year. The company gave estimates to participants showing if they do change their behavior, they could save $10 to $15 per month.ĭTE also plans to retire its coal power plants by 2040. From October through May, the peak costs fall to 15.4 cents per kilowatt-hour.įor customers who do not change their behavior during the pilot, they are paying $2 to $5 more per month, Lamphear said.
Off-peak hours are discounted at 14.9 cents per kilowatt-hour. June through September compared to the typical 15.7 cents most customers pay. DTE is running its own pilot with 14,000 customers that it expects to expand eventually to its 1.8 million residential electricity ratepayers in southeast Michigan and the Thumb region. When that could happen has not been finalized, DTE spokesman Chris Lamphear said.ĭTE's Shift & Save pilot has participants paying 16.6 cents per kilowatt-hour from 3 p.m. Michigan is looking at a 40% to 50% probability of temperatures above average in the summer, the National Weather Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in April.Ĭonsumers Energy isn't alone in the move to time-of-use rates. Total energy use by Consumers Energy customers actually has declined since COVID-19 came to Michigan, though as more business activity has resumed, demand is increasing again. It was supposed to be implemented last year but was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On average, Consumers Energy customers use 650 kilowatt-hours of energy each month, Wheeler said, so some customers could pay less per month under the new system if they make adjustments.ĭespite more people working from home during the pandemic, the change is not expected to increase Consumers Energy's revenues, Wheeler added.
The utility's price structure change also eliminates for the summer an increased rate for households that use more than 600 kilowatt-hours of energy each month. The 2019 pilot showed a 3.5% reduction in peak-hour energy use.Ĭonsumers charges about 10 cents per kilowatt-hour during nonsummer months. That is more reflective of the actual cost of power generation at different times of the day and year since the last kilowatt-hour produced is the most expensive. The new rate has customers paying almost 15 cents per kilowatt-hour during peak hours and about 10 cents during off-peak times. "This became a question of 'Is there a more affordable approach and a more environmentally appropriate approach?' This can make a significant impact by simply shifting that usage to different hours of the day."
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