Fixed Price Offer From Power Company Right Before Car Delivery

[StillWaitingForMachE]

So I just got a fixed Price plan offer from my power company. $75/mo, or an estimated $90/year now than I'm currently paying on average.

But here's the thing...I get a Mach E any day now and that will add quite a bit to my power bill, even charging during off peak hours.

It definitely feels dishonest to accept this offer right before my electricity use is about to massively increase...but....is there any legal reason I can't do it? Will I regret it once the one year fixed Price is over? Does the power company have a way to break the price lock or recalculate it in the middle of the one year contract, or would they charge me separately for my EV charging since I have a submeter?

Please advise...

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[Mach-Lee]

Read the fine print carefully. Usually how those work is they will adjust your monthly bill every 6-12 months to reflect actual usage. You could have a massive increase next year to recoup the previous year's charges if you start EV charging. Also see if you are "locked in" to the plan for a certain timeframe or can switch back to regular billing at a later time.

 

[StillWaitingForMachE]

Read the fine print carefully. Usually how those work is they will adjust your monthly bill every 6-12 months to reflect actual usage. You could have a massive increase next year to recoup the previous year's charges if you start EV charging. Also see if you are "locked in" to the plan for a certain timeframe or can switch back to regular billing at a later time.

Good points. I should also check the fine print on my off peak charging program to make sure that joining the fixed rate program wouldn't disqualify me from the $500 incentive that program is currently offering

 

[StillWaitingForMachE]

Update: They"re smarter than the average bear:

You will be notified if your weather-adjusted usage is 15% or more than the expected monthly kWh usage. If your usage exceeds the threshold three times, you may be removed from the EZ Bill program and returned to your standard tariff and rate.

If for any reason, you are removed from the EZ Bill program or terminate participation prior to the end of your 12-month contract a $50 administrative fee may be applied to your account.

So I could maybe save three months worth of charging costs, but then get a $50 fee and maybe not be eligible for the $500 off peak program incentive. Not worth the hassle

 

[Mach-Lee]

Update: They"re smarter than the average bear:


So I could maybe save three months worth of charging costs, but then get a $50 fee and maybe not be eligible for the $500 off peak program incentive. Not worth the hassle

Yup, utility companies are expects at extracting every last cent from you within the confines of government regulation. So no surprise they thought of someone trying to screw them over.

After analyzing time of use plans, I've also come to the conclusion that they often won't save you much money when you factor in other household usage like A/C and heat (e.g. having to set back A/C until 7 PM). Saving a couple bucks a month isn't worth being uncomfortable to me. I just make my systems as efficient as possible and save that way.

 

[StillWaitingForMachE]

Yup, utility companies are expects at extracting every last cent from you within the confines of government regulation. So no surprise they thought of someone trying to screw them over.

After analyzing time of use plans, I've also come to the conclusion that they often won't save you much money when you factor in other household usage like A/C and heat (e.g. having to set back A/C until 7 PM). Saving a couple bucks a month isn't worth being uncomfortable to me. I just make my systems as efficient as possible and save that way.

My off peak program is *just* for electric car charging. I did have to get a submeter installed, but it wasnt a huge extra expense for me since I had to have a bunch of electrical work done anyways and it added maybe $100

 

[macchiaz-o]

After analyzing time of use plans, I've also come to the conclusion that they often won't save you much money when you factor in other household usage like A/C and heat (e.g. having to set back A/C until 7 PM). Saving a couple bucks a month isn't worth being uncomfortable to me. I just make my systems as efficient as possible and save that way.

I felt this way for years. Then while waiting the 15+ months for my Mach-E, I went ahead and wrote a program to calculate what I would have been billed based on my historical usage (with no BEV) on each of my local utility's rate plans.

Turns out that, without a BEV and without adjusting any habits whatsoever, the cost differences were mostly in the noise. A few dollars more or less for each TOU plan compared to the basic flat rate plan.

Then I called SRP (my utility) to ask some questions and during the call I found out, they compute those same numbers and they came to exactly the same amounts as my software. So that was a good feeling. Lesson here: call your utility if you'd like to know how much less or more you'll pay on each plan, assuming no change to your usage patterns.

So then I put in some simulated BEV charging in the middle of the night and found that yes, there is significant savings if I own a BEV, drive about 40 miles a day, and charge only overnight.

Now that I've had the Mach-E for 16 months, I can look at my bills and tell you that I'm saving $7-$25 per month as compared to the basic rate plan.

If you're curious, I have a "12 SEER" 5-ton AC from 2001 that works very hard throughout the day during summer, but no pool, gas water heater, and gas furnace.

 

[kdonnel]

After analyzing time of use plans, I've also come to the conclusion that they often won't save you much money when you factor in other household usage like A/C and heat (e.g. having to set back A/C until 7 PM). Saving a couple bucks a month isn't worth being uncomfortable to me. I just make my systems as efficient as possible and save that way.

I have come to the same conclusion.

The TOU and EV plans (virtually identical) available to me charge 3x-3.5x during on peak times. I really want my home AC running during those on peak times. Any savings I would get during the off peak and super off peak times would easily be eaten up by my continued on peak usage.

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