OUC to change billing in November
ORLANDO, Fla. —
The video that pops up in the email inboxes of Orlando Utilities Commission power customers explains, “DemandLevel will change your bill. Beginning November 2026, you’ll see two updates.”
OUC is sending the message to roughly 250,000 residential power customers. It’s letting them know that a new billing system is going into effect next month, called DemandLevel pricing.
It was approved nearly three years ago, in a unanimous OUC Board vote on Dec. 10, 2024. It was part of the larger PeakShift program, addressing residential, commercial and solar energy use.
The big question: will most OUC ratepayer bills go up or down?
Jenise Osani, OUC vice president of customer experience and sales, tells WESH 2 News that about 50% of residential customers will see a decrease or no change in their bills.
“It will help reduce operational costs and help to keep rates affordable,” Osani said.
In short, Osani says DemandLevel pricing is designed to help manage high-demand moments by adjusting customer energy-use habits to reduce peak usage and to lower monthly payments.
As the customer video explains, new tiered pricing will go into effect next month. It comes with a new consumption rate, a decrease of 12.5% per kilowatt-hour, about one cent per kWh. Combined with that will be the new three-tiered pricing which will be based on the highest 15-minute window of electricity demand each month.
For example, if your oven is on, your dryer is running and if your air conditioning kicks on at the same time, that could be a peak window affecting your bill. Staggering the moments you use the big draws on your electricity could put you in the middle or lowest tier.
Osani adds, “If customers make behavior changes, they can bring their bills down even more.”
OUC stresses the new plan is designed to be revenue-neutral, meaning the utility will not make any more money from the change.