Time-of-Use Rate

Entergy Arkansas, Inc.’s time-of-use rate may help you manage your electric bill if you can reduce your electricity usage during peak hours. Costs to supply electricity are higher during peak usage hours like weekday afternoons. So, with Entergy Arkansas’* time-of-use rate, if you can use electricity when it costs less, your bill can be less.

How does the time-of-use rate work?

The time-of-use rate works similar to how the phone company bills long distance charges:

• Your account is charged a higher rate for electricity used during on-peak hours, when everyone is using it and it costs more to supply.
• Your account is charged a lower rate for electricity used during off-peak hours when there are fewer users and it costs less to supply.

How much am I charged for electricity under time-of-use rates?

How does this lower my bill?

When you sign up for time-of-use rates, Entergy Arkansas will replace your old meter with a new meter that measures the electricity used at different times of the day. Then, if you move energy-intensive activities from on-peak hours to off-peak hours, you’ll be charged a lower rate for the electricity you use for those activities.

What activities can I move that will help me make a difference in lowering my bill?

Here are ways you can move activities or change behaviors to reduce your bill:

• Move laundry and baking to off-peak hours (nights and weekends).
• During peak hours, shut down computers and printers when not in use.
• Unplug devices, like VCRs, that passively consume energy when not in use.
• Place pool pumps and filters on timers to run during off-peak hours.
• In the summer, raise your air conditioning setting by 5 degrees during the daytime or when you’re not home.
• In the winter, lower your heating temperature a few degrees.

Programmable thermostats are wonderful tools to help manage your heating and cooling! And, if you’re in the market for new appliances, be sure they meet the highest Energy Star ratings for energy efficiency.

Is the time-of-use rate more or less than I’m paying today?

That depends on how you use electricity and how much activity you can reduce or shift from on-peak hours. The time-of-use off-peak rate for electricity is lower than what most customers pay with standard residential rates (AR_RS), and the on-peak rate is much higher. Note that the monthly charge for the time-of-use rate (AR_RT) is higher than for standard residential service. To compare rates and see a sample bill, click here.

How can I estimate how much my bill would change on the time-of-use rate?

With traditional electricity meters, it is not possible to determine when in the day or in the month that you use electricity. So, it’s also not possible to calculate how your bill would change under the time-of-use rate. Instead, you must judge if you feel you could effectively change your behavior to move enough activities to off-peak periods, that is, to use more of the lower rate electricity than of the higher rate electricity, or to reduce your overall usage. It will be necessary to change or reduce the usage-intensive applications in you home, like air conditioning, to make the needed difference. If you fail to change your electricity usage behavior adequately, your electric bill could increase under time-of-use rates.

One-Year Commitment

It’s important to note that once you switch to the time-of-use rate, you commit to staying on the time-of-use rate for one year. So, think it over; talk it over. Be sure you and your family can make the commitment to changing your behavior before signing up! By making the commitment to change your usage patterns and reduce on-peak electricity usage, you benefit yourself and all other Arkansans by using energy more efficiently.

* Entergy Arkansas, Inc.