OUC – The Reliable One’s Board of Commissioners has approved its somewhat controversial PeakSHIFT initiative; a multiyear plan that will change pricing structures in at least four major ways for its estimated 300,000 customers.
- SunChoice Solar: Enables customers to subscribe to solar-generated electricity without upfront costs and at economical large-scale solar farm pricing.
- DemandLevel Pricing: Reduces variable non-fuel energy cost per kWh by 14% (~1 cent) and adds a tiered fixed charge to encourage reducing distribution peak demand (the point where each residential and small commercial customer’s usage is at its highest 15-minute average within the month).
- TruNet Solar: Adjusting compensation for future rooftop solar.
- Shift & Save: Introducing an industry-proven, time-of-day pricing plan to enable customers to save money by shifting part of their electricity usage to “off-peak” periods for those who want additional incentives to save money.
OUC says that most of its customers (50%) will not see an increase in their bills, though 30% could see an increase of $2 per month, and the rest could see an increase of $6-$12 per month, based on how much power they use during peak times of the day.
OUC says that its residential electric rates are “well below the state and national average” with the average OUC customer paying about two cents less per Kilowatt Hour than elsewhere in the state, and four cents less than the national average.
