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SMUD customers on the utility\u2019s Time-of-Day rate plan will see higher electricity costs during peak evening hours beginning June 1 as summer pricing takes effect.<\/p>\n
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SMUD customers on the utility\u2019s Time-of-Day rate plan<\/a> will see higher electricity costs during peak evening hours beginning June 1 as summer pricing takes effect.<\/p>\n Under SMUD\u2019s standard residential pricing structure<\/a>, customers pay different rates based on the season and time of day. During the summer, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District uses off-peak, mid-peak and peak pricing blocks, with rates at their highest from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays.<\/p>\n \u201cSMUD encourages customers to shift their energy use during summer months when demand peaks between 5 and 8 p.m. because that\u2019s when energy costs are highest,\u201d Gamaliel Ortiz, a spokesperson for SMUD, wrote in a Tuesday email statement. \u201cBy running large appliances before 5 p.m. or after 8 p.m., customers can save money and help keep the electric system running smoothly during busy hours.\u201d<\/p>\n The summer pricing structure will apply from June 1 through Sept. 30. Under summer rates, customers on the Time-of-Day plan will pay 37.65 cents per kilowatt-hour during peak hours \u2014 a 19.89-cent increase from non-summer peak pricing.<\/p>\n Off-peak hours, usually from 8 p.m. to 5 p.m. in non-summer months, also will be split into mid-peak blocks from noon to 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. to midnight, priced at 21.39 cents per kilowatt-hour. Off-peak hours from midnight to noon, as well as weekends and federal holidays, will cost customers 15.50 cents per kilowatt-hour.<\/p>\n \u201cFor simple tips, customers can shift their energy use to outside of peak hours, use smaller cooking devices, use fans to cool homes or turn up their thermostat a few degrees. Our EV customers can also save by charging their vehicles overnight,\u201d Ortiz wrote in an email.<\/p>\n The summer pricing increase follows a 3% rate hike implemented in January, the first of two increases approved by the SMUD Board of Directors last year<\/a>. The second rate hike will take effect in 2027.<\/p>\n
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