Time-of-Use Pilot Program
Starting June 1st, 2024, Avista will pilot two (2) Time-of-Use (TOU) rate programs to a limited number of Washington residential and small commercial electric customers.
The TOU pilots will run for two years and help Avista develop a time-of-use rate structure that can effectively shift power use away from peak demand times to maintain reliability, conserve energy, and potentially drive cost savings for customers that have the flexibility to shift their usage on weekdays away from peak periods when rates are higher.
How it works
When and how you use electricity matters: Time-of-use (TOU) rates are an easy way for electric customers who have the flexibility to shift their home or business energy load away from “peak” periods to save money on their monthly bill. On a TOU rate plan, customers will pay less for electricity during “off-peak” periods on weekdays and all day on weekends and holidays.
Explore upcoming options
TOU-A
TOU-B
FAQs
Customers who are interested in participating in TOU can revisit this page on or after June 1st, 2024.
- The pilot is open to Washington electric residential and small business customers currently taking service on rate schedule 01 or 11
- How do I know what rate I’m on?
- Most residential customers are on rate schedule 01.
- Small businesses with lower demand are typically on rate schedule 11.
- Rate schedules are identified in the Electric Detail section on your bill. A leading zero (0) is shown in front of the rate schedule.
- Customers need to have a smart meter, also known as Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). The majority of Washington customers have a smart meter.
- The program requires customers to have only ONE electric meter.
- The customer must have a MyAvista account or be willing to create one.
- Net metering customers are not eligible.
After you enroll, the new rate plan starts on the first day of your next bill cycle.
- A Rate Comparison Tool will be available at the start of the pilot that can be used to estimate monthly costs between the TOU rate plans and current rate plans for eligible customers.
- A TOU rate plan may work well for some customers who currently use less electricity during “peak” hours or have the flexibility to shift when and how they use electricity.
- TOU plans require some effort by the customer to learn the “peak” and “off-peak” hours associated with their TOU rate plan and make adjustments to their lifestyle or business/operating hours.
- Some examples of shifting usage from “peak” to “off-peak” include adjusting the time of day that energy intensive appliances, equipment, and heating/cooling systems are used.
- Avista cannot guarantee a TOU rate plan will lower all customers’ electric bills.
- Yes, customers enrolled in a TOU rate plan will be able to compare their TOU rate bill with what they would have been billed if still on their previous rate plan by accessing a Standard Rate Comparison tool on their online MyAvista account.
- Customers should expect variances month to month between their TOU rate plan and their previous rate plan. Some months the TOU rate plan may be less than the previous rate plan, and other months the TOU plan may be more.
- Yes, Avista guarantees against excessive increase of customer costs for the first year of enrollment in the program. If the total energy costs incurred on a TOU rate plan for the first year exceed 10% over what costs would have been for the same period on the customer’s default rate schedule, the net difference will be credited on the customer’s bill following the end of the first year of service under the program.
- No Guarantee Payment shall be given if customer terminates service on the TOU rate plan before the end of the first year on the program.
- Before signing up, customers are encouraged to look at their online rate comparison tool, which provides an estimate of each rate plan based on historical usage and current rates. This tool will be available on June 1st, 2024.
- Yes, at any time you can change back to your standard rate plan, schedule 01 for residential customers or schedule 11 for small business customers.
- When you unenroll in TOU and change back to your previous rate plan, the standard rate plan will start on the first day of your next bill cycle.
- When you unenroll in any TOU rate plan, you may not enroll again in a TOU rate plan for the term of the pilot.
No, if you move, your enrollment in TOU is cancelled and you cannot reenroll in TOU for the term of the pilot.
- New Year’s Day
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- Presidents’ Day
- Memorial Day
- Juneteenth
- 4th of July
- Labor Day
- Veteran’s Day
- Thanksgiving Day and Day after
- Christmas Day
- Residential TOU rate plans include schedule 07 (TOU-A) and schedule 08 (TOU-B)
- Small Business TOU rate plans include schedule 17 (TOU-A) and schedule 18 (TOU-B)