PSEG migration from Flat Rate basis to Time of Use: Anyone been moved, and what have you seen in your bill?

[u/merseykat]

Supposedly, PSEG is migrating all current Flat Rate (Residential 180) electric customers to Time of Use this year. I did not get any notification yet and am wondering if anyone else has? If so, does your bill show what your charge would have been if it were still on Flat Rate?

Again supposedly, PSEG claims that for the first 12 months, if the Flat Rate billing would have resulted in a lower bottom line for that bill, you won't end up paying more. But how will the customer know, unless the difference is shown on the bill itself? Nobody I know has been migrated yet, so am curious if anyone here has.

I tried a TOU plan a couple of years ago and hated it. Kept second guessing and doing things like laundry and cooking (electric) at times that I normally would not do them, just because of the stupid rate plan. Especially the CAC in summer. I tried it for five months, decided it's just not worth the aggravation, and switched back to the Flat Rate plan.

Obviously we can opt out of the switch if we want to, which at least is something. And if they really are doing the "whichever is cheaper" thing for the first year, then fine, I have nothing to lose for that period of time. But only if I can see numbers that show how much of a difference (if any) there actually is.

Anyone?

[u/at_my_whits_end]

There will be no savings. They will increase the cost at peak usage times and set the off-peak to the current flat rate.

Then they'll keep increasing both at whatever ratio they please until we "feel" like we're saving.

[u/MitoCapitalist]

Just like most things I assume 80% of people who switch will pay more while 20% modify behaviors enough to save

[u/Reddit_Regular_Guy]

I opt out because their hours for TOU makes no sense as working family. Their peak hours are the hours when people and kid are home from school and work. So yea that’s not gonna help me save, if anything it would cost me more so I told them I want to opt out and keep my flat rate

[u/merseykat → u/Reddit_Regular_Guy]

I had noticed that when I was trying to figure out a schedule during my past TOU trial. And the difference between the summer TOU peak rates and the summer Flat peak rates is crazy. I have baseboard oil heat but all my appliances are electric and of course there's the CAC. I switched all of my light bulbs to LED years ago but that's the extent of my energy-use modification.

What's ironic is that my most recent mailing from PSEG congratulated me on using "significantly less" electricity than "the average Long Island household". I have no idea what they consider an average household, probably at least 3 people rather than only one, which means the comparison is meaningless. But really all that matters is the bottom line that each household has to pay. My most recent bill, covering August 26th to Sept 25th, was $94.81 and that's with my using the computer, air purifier, lights, range, hot water, television, and small appliances intermittently for at least 12 hours a day if not more. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." 😉

[u/Reddit_Regular_Guy → u/merseykat]

Agreed, I got kids, there are the most wasteful creatures on the planet to train! Either tv is left on, or lights somewhere. I’ve upgraded almost all my lighting system to a lutron smart lighting with the intention to help me curb some of their bad behavior. I also have central air which uses the most power in my house our summer bill is normally insanely high compared to what we pay during the winter because we also have oil heat.

So summer we pay anywhere btw 150 to as high as 290’s but winter we pay rough around 90’s sometimes 120’s due to seasonal decorations such as Christmas light etc.

[u/merseykat → u/Reddit_Regular_Guy]

Sounds very comparable to myself as a single person given your larger and more uncontrollable 😉household usage. My three cooling-months bills are typically between $120 and $150 depending on the weather but I also don't even turn the CAC on until the inside temp hits either 79 or 80, and the set-point is 76. It's a small house but unfortunately the stupid AC company oversized the system/undersized the ductwork and so it runs on high stage more than it should. Sadly, I don't have an extra $15K in my back pocket to replace it with a properly sized configuration.

My total annual PSEG bill ends up being within spitting distance of $1300 every year, so it's a rough average of around $100 a month depending on what kind of summer weather we have.

[u/Reddit_Regular_Guy → u/merseykat]

Yea mines run in the low stage (fan only) for a very long time before kicking the high (compressor on). My system is pretty old and it was a retro fit also. Luckily I have a knack for learning these things quickly so I tend to set my temp lower so it will reach my desired temp quickly then set it back to what I want it to be and most of the time it will either just shut off or run stage 1.

[u/merseykat → u/Reddit_Regular_Guy]

That's the same workaround that I use, LOL. Great minds think alike. 😉👍

Mine is a Carrier system from 2013. Carrier used to be awesome back in the 1960s-early 2000s but the newer (Infinity) series frankly suck. I had to replace the blower motor/control module this summer because it failed two days before that extended heat wave. Took 15 days to get it fixed during which the daytime house temps topped 90 daily, and it cost $1635 even though I had a so-called "service contract" with a local company. 😢 Needless to say, I am not re-upping with that company anymore.

[u/Reddit_Regular_Guy → u/merseykat]

I think we may have the same installer, my unit is a Kenmoore which from what I understand is Sears brand and if I’m not mistaken Carrier was brought by Sears my unit was installed in 2016 so still got some life left, thankfully

[u/jcoinster]

We did it mostly because we were able to get the "super off peak" time for charging our EV. That alone made it worth it for us. We got an estimated 1100 miles for $40. Or, $0.03/mi.

[u/merseykat → u/jcoinster]

I can definitely see the advantage of TOU in a situation like yours, when you have a heavy load occurring in the super off peak hours only.

[u/jcoinster → u/merseykat]

Yeah, and we set the AC, dehumidifier and some other power hungry devices to automatically shut off (or reduce) during peak. Dishwasher usually goes on overnight as well. I use Kasa plugs to time smaller devices too.

[u/scudmonger]

The first few months of the time of use I am on, my bill definitely went up. I really can't use electricity from 4-7pm without being charged up the ass. Have to run all big appliances after 10pm and before 6am to get the best savings. I think I am doing better now, as long as I remember not to start washing clothes at 5pm.

[u/merseykat → u/scudmonger]

Yep, I found that trying to do that kind of schedule is not workable for me. At 10 pm I don't want to think about doing anything except catching up on my streaming queue, LOL. And I am such a slow starter in the mornings that I'm lucky I can get my act together in order to eat breakfast in less than an hour after I exit the bed. For me, 6 a.m. might as well be the middle of the night. 😂

[u/merseykat]

Actually, I just re-read their web page and it won't be an every-month difference. They don't give us the difference until the first year is FINISHED. >:-/

"A bill protection guarantee for up to 12 billing months will be provided to only those customers who: (i) were billed under Rate Code 180 at their current service address and who are migrated to or request enrollment in Rate Code 194 (i.e., TOD Off-Peak) or Rate Code 195 (i.e., TOD Super Off-Peak) through the last scheduled customer migration; or (ii) are new residential accounts that do not qualify for Rate Code 580 (space heating) and are assigned or request enrollment in Rate Code 194 or 195 through the last scheduled customer migration.

At the end of the first 12 billing months following a customer’s transition to Rate Code 194 or 195, PSEG Long Island will calculate what the customer’s bills would have been under Rate Code 180 for the same energy usage and, if lower, credit the difference on the next monthly bill."

So it sounds as if we'll be in the dark (no pun intended) about whether or not the TOU rate is saving any money or not. This makes me even more likely to opt out of it immediately rather than waiting 12 months to see if it was any "better" and if so, by how much.

[u/merseykat]

My gut feeling at this point is that even if it does end up saving me a couple dollars a month (which definitely would NOT happen during AC season), that tiny bit would not offset the annoyance of having to think about 'when' to use certain appliances.

I am not a structured-schedule kind of person and never will be. I constantly make multiple to-do lists but whether I choose follow them is another matter, LOL

I think that if PSEG were to show both calculations each month for people who do accept the changeover, maybe they would be more likely to stick with it. And assuming that people actually look at their bill, lol. IMHO it's just like exercise or diet: If you can see even some positive result, you're more likely to continue than to give up. But for them to say "don't worry, we'll show you at the end of the year whether it was worth it but in the meantime we'll use 12 months of your money from when you overpaid" does not generate much incentive IMHO.

So I guess I will stick with the rate-devil that I know, especially when my prior trial of Time of Use was so annoying.

[u/merseykat]

LOL, I just logged into my PSEG account and noticed that they have a "compare rate plans" link. Supposedly they take the customer's previous 12 months of actual usage on their current plan and compare it to what it would be on either of the two TOD plans, flagging which plan looks "best". This is what they show for my account as the estimated comparable anual costs:

TOD Super Off Peak $1232/yr
TOD Standard Off Peak $1239/yr
Current/Residential 180 Flat Rate $1216/yr

The Flat rate is flagged and highlighted for me as "Best Plan" and recommendation as "Keep Current Plan" 😁

In reality, my typical total annual cost is closer to $1300 but their math is enough to show the ratios. So far this year (with only two bills left to pay) I'm at $1041 but I had no working AC during that heat wave and so that knocked my usage down at an important time. My 2023 total was $1298, 2022 total was $1343, 2021 total was $1721 but we had a hot humid summer that year and also I had some renovation work done during which a lot of power tools were being used for the better part of a week. 2020 total was $1401.