Tiered Utility Rates

Electricity is often priced by tiered rates by most utility companies. Here, your monthly use of energy is split into a number of different tiers. For the first tier of energy, the price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) is lower than it is for any other tier. Let’s say the first 300 kWh are charged at $0.10/kWh, the next 300 at $0.15/kWh and everything above $0.20/kWh. Your energy usage directly affects how much you pay: as you use more electricity, you often end up at higher, more expensive rates which greatly increases your bill. The purpose of these prices is to reduce energy wastage. Getting to know how your utility divides rates can help you keep energy costs low. Enact helps businesses create solar energy solutions that are suited to various rates, both tiered and TOU. Analyzing a customer’s energy use and their utility rates allows Enact to design a typical solar PV system (and maybe even a battery system) so that the customer saves as much money as possible by using the system during less expensive hours.