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What Time Is Electricity Most Expensive? Learn How Peak Electricity Times Can Affect Your Monthly Electric Bill

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With such a large family and a big home, your electricity usage is high. Your electric bill seems like it keeps rising every month. You need to figure out a solution to your electricity usage that will help lower your bill.

This guide explains:

  •  What times are considered peak times
  •  When electricity usage is cheaper
  • How to lower your energy charges
  • And more 

Table of Contents

  •  Does Electricity Cost More During Peak Hours?
  • What Is the Best Time to Use Electricity?
  •  3 Most Common Peak Times for Electricity
  •  Time Of Use Indexed Plan vs. Variable Price Electricity Plans or Fixed Rate Electricity Plans
  • 3 Ways You Can Keep Your Electricity Costs Low During Peak Times
  • Gexa Energy: Your Trusted Source for Low-Cost Variable-Price and Fixed-Rate Plans During Peak Times

Disclaimer: The contents of this article is being discussed through the lens of Gexa’s Time Of Use plan.

Does Electricity Cost More During Peak Hours?

During peak hours, the demand for electricity is high. This means that electric companies need to provide more electricity for their customers during those hours, sometimes resulting in higher energy charges, if you’re not on a fixed rate plan.

Peak hours are usually considered to be:

  •  The early mornings while families are getting ready for their day.
  • The late afternoon to early evening when many households use electricity after work and/or school until bedtime approaches.
  •  Summer and winter months when the air conditioner and heat are used more often.

Does electricity cost more during peak hours?

This depends on your electricity plan.

For example:

  •  Fixed rate plans charge the same price per kilowatt-hour regardless of the time of day. The point of a fixed rate plan is that the price of electricity never changes during the contract, so customers can always estimate their monthly energy charges.
  • Variable price or indexed pricing can change monthly because the cost of electricity is dependent on how the electricity market fluctuates. This can cause customers to pay more or less in a given month, regardless of peak or off-peak times.

It’s important to note that there is no “best time” unless you are on a Time Of Use plan (like free nights or free weekends) that offers lower energy charges based on time of day or day of week.

Why Does Electricity Cost More During Peak Hours?

Peak times for electricity use affect the wholesale cost of electricity because operators need more generating capacity.

The high demand for electricity means more work for electricity producers, which translates to higher prices for energy consumers.

What Are “Off-Peak” Hours?

To try and keep your electricity usage low, the best time to use electricity is during off-peak times.

Off-peak hours are generally considered to be:

  • Summer months (April-October) before 3 p.m. and after 7 p.m.
  • Winter months (November-March) before 6 a.m. and after 10 a.m.
  • Weekends

Is it Cheaper to Use Electricity at Night?

Wholesale electricity is often cheaper from the late evening through the early morning when not as many people are awake and using electricity.

However, most electricity plans do not offer cheaper electricity rates for off-peak hours.

To ensure your electricity is cheaper at night, find a plan that offers free or discounted night electricity.

Gexa Energy offers time of use plans that are 100% green and designed to help keep energy charges lower for night time or weekend electricity usage:

  • Gexa Free Mornings & Nights
  • Gexa Free 3-Day Weekends Plan

3 Most Common Peak Times for Electricity Use

Peak times for electricity use are the times of the day or year that the most people are using the most amount of electricity.

The 3 most common peak times for electricity use are:

  • Daytime hours (usually early mornings and late afternoon to early evenings)
  • Summer months
  • Winter months

#1: Daytime Hours

Daytime hours are considered to be a peak time for electricity usage because this is when the world is awake.

People are running appliances, using electronics, turning on lights throughout their homes, and doing school or work.

There are two important times of the day that play into the high demand for electricity during daytime hours:

  1. The morning ramp (around 5-7 a.m.) is the transition from the dark and sleeping hours when electricity usage is low to the start of the day when people are waking up, starting appliances, and turning on lights and electronics.
  2. Peak demand is the early evening hours when people are arriving back home from work or school, cooking dinner or doing laundry, using their heating or cooling systems, running the dishwasher, turning lights back on, and using computers, gaming systems, or other electronics.

#2: Summer Months

Summer months tend to be peak times for electricity use for a few reasons:

1. People are running their cooling systems more frequently and at lower temperatures to help counteract the hot temperatures outdoors. 

Air conditioners use around 6% of all of the electricity produced in the United States. To help lower the costs of electricity in the summer months, you can:

  •  Switch to a high-efficiency air conditioner
  •  Keep up with the maintenance on your air conditioner
  • Set your air-conditioner to operate on a timer to conserve electricity
  • Use ceiling fans more often
  • Use window curtains to block out the sunlight and heat

2. The hot temperatures force people indoors, increasing the use of cooling systems and landing them on electronics for many more hours throughout the day.

#3: Winter Months 

Similar to the summer months, the winter months are also peak times for electricity use.

  1. People are using heating systems more frequently to help keep their homes warm most hours of the day and night.
  2.  The cooler temperatures keep people indoors, increasing the use of heating systems and electronics.
  3. The days are shorter, so homes use more lighting to make up for the dark outdoors for more hours during the winter days.

Time Of Use Indexed Plan vs. Variable Price Electricity Plans or Fixed Rate Electricity Plans: Which One Is Better During Peak Hours? 

They each have their pros and cons, but is one better than the other to use during peak electricity hours?

It depends — let’s review each of them below. 

Time Of Use

As we stated above, there really is no “best time” to use electricity unless you are on a Time Of Use plan (such as Gexa Free 3-Day Weekends Plan) that correlates lower energy charges with day of week.

Variable Price

A variable price plan is one where the price of electricity can change each month depending on the market price of electricity.

As the electric market increases, your per kWh price may also go up. As the electric market decreases, your energy charges may go down.

Although variable price electricity plans might be higher in peak months due to the demand for electricity affecting energy costs, these electricity plans may still be lower than a fixe -rate plan would be in off-peak times. 

Gexa Energy offers variable price plans, like the Gexa Flex plan, a month-to-month plan that is 100% green.

Fixed Rate Electricity

Fixed rate electricity plans lock the consumer into a set price per kilowatt hour for the entire length of their contract.

Many energy consumers like this plan option because they have an approximate idea of how much their energy charges are going to be each month.

Unlike variable price electricity where the price that the customer pays increases as the electricity market increases, fixed rate electricity plan customers can save money when there is a higher demand for electricity. 

Gexa Energy offers a number of 100% renewable fixed rate electricity plans including:

  •  EveryDay | EveryNight 12
  •  Gexa Energy Saver 12
  •  Gexa Energy Saver 24
  •  EveryDay | EveryNight 24
  •  Gexa Energy Saver 36

 

3 Ways You Can Keep Your Electricity Costs Low During Peak Hours

If you’re looking to keep your electricity usage and energy charges low, especially during peak hours, it’s not impossible to do. 

By making some small changes throughout your home and in your daily routine, you can lower your electricity costs regardless of what kind of electricity plan you are using. 

#1: Install a Programmable Thermostat

Heating and cooling systems account for more than half of the electricity usage in a home. By installing a programmable thermostat, energy users can program their heating and cooling for use during specific times of the day.

A programmable thermostat allows you to set temperatures higher or lower during peak hours or through the night when everyone is sleeping to help save electricity usage and lower energy charges. 

With a Gexa Energy Saver Plan, you can lock in a great low rate and get up to 2 FREE smart thermostats (free install included) to help manage your home’s temperature anytime, anywhere — plus, get a $100 Visa® Reward Card as a welcome bonus.*

#2: Use Large Appliances at Night

Large appliances eat up a large amount of electricity usage, which can become costly quickly.

By running large appliances at night when the electricity demand is lower, you can cut back on electricity costs.

Some large appliances to consider running at night include:

  •  Washing machine
  •  Dryer
  •  Dishwasher

#3: Don’t Leave Electricity On When You’re Not Home

Many people have the bad habit of leaving on electronics that they are no longer using, or leaving on lights when they leave a room or the home.

By remembering to power off electronics that you are done using and turning off your lights, you can save electricity usage and energy charges.

When you leave the home, try to remember to:

  •  Turn off all of the lights
  •  Turn off your computer
  •  Turn off the television
  •  Adjust your thermostat accordingly

Gexa Energy: Your Trusted Source for Low-Cost Variable and Fixed Rate Plans During Peak Hours

Are you tired of keeping track of your electricity usage during peak hours? 

Gexa Energy offers residential plans that are 100% renewable and low cost.

The many variable price plans and fixed rate plans available at Gexa Energy can help you use your electricity during peak hours without facing high energy charges.

 

*Allow 4 to 8 weeks for delivery and installation of your Copeland SensiTM Touch Wi-Fi smart thermostats.

Energy Optimization is a feature of this plan, which means Gexa may remotely adjust the thermostat temperature during peak usage periods to optimize your energy usage. At any time, you may override this adjustment using your app or thermostat.

$100 Gexa Energy Visa® Reward Card welcome bonus is available for new residential customers only who enroll on an Energy Saver Plan subject to availability. Promotion code and smart thermostat installation required to receive card. Allow 2-4 weeks after we have received payment in full of your second monthly bill to receive card, which will be mailed to the address specified during enrollment. Offer not valid with any other plan, promotion or discount and may be replaced or withdrawn at any time without notice. Card is issued by the Bancorp Bank, Member FDIC, pursuan to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Visa U.S.A., Inc. is not affiliated with Gexa Energy and does not endorse or sponsor this program.

Gexa Energy is not affiliated with Copeland and makes no warranties with respect to Sensi. Copeland, Sensi and related marks and logos are trademarks of Copeland, Inc. Other product/company names are trademarks of their respective owners. 

Gexa Energy purchases renewable energy credits (RECs) from renewable generation resources throughout North America to match 100% of the energy sold under your electric plan.  The RECs Gexa purchases represent the renewable attributes of power generated from a variety of renewable energy sources, including, but not limited to, the sun, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, wave or tidal energy, and biomass or biomass-based waste products, including landfill gas.