Tesla wants to help you save money on your electric bill - Electrek
Do we only have one flat rate throughout the day?
Do we only have one flat rate throughout the day?
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Does Fortis BC has higher peak period rate?
- Thread starter hohohong
- Start date
Because of the way our electricity is produced.
Many jurisdictions produce electricity using nuclear, or coal, or natural gas or other fuel processes. It is difficult fir them to vary their production rate over the course of a day. They sell electricity at a higher rate during in demand periods (say 6:00 am until 8:00 p.m. They drop the rate when there is low demand because at that time they are producing more electricity that the market is demanding.
In BC, almost all electricity is produced by hydroelectric dams. BC Hydro turns down hydroelectric production at night in order to not overproduce because there is low demand then.
In fact, BC Hydro can buy the nighttime electricity that other producers are selling cheaply. It can then sell expensive daytime electricity to those same producers later in the day.
No. We are not paying flat rate. There are two tiers that I couldn’t remember what is the threshold. Over that limit, you are paying more.
My bad,... it's BC Hydro, not Fortis BC.
The rates are:
Step 1
$0.0945 per kWh for first 1,350 in an average two month billing period (22.1918 kWh per day).
Step 2
$0.1417 per kWh over the 1,350 Step 1 threshold.
My last bill is 1050 kWh. I'll see how much more my Tesla charging is gonna cost me.
Yes, the rate varies with level of consumption but not by time of day. The article referenced discussed time of day rates.
So it is correct that there are two tiers, but for practical purposes, there is little that a BEV user can do to affect the rate tier. For example, I have my thermostat set at 18° C in the winter, use a heat pump, don’t use air conditioning during the summer and still I go into second tier. When I start home charging it will all be at second tier.
Yeah, I used to hover right around the cutoff between 1st and 2nd tier, so my EV charging is basically going to be 2nd tier and there's nothing I can do to change that.
Oh, and after I got my car, BC Hydro sent me an email saying they notice I'm using more electricity, suggesting I start a power smart challenge and attempt to reduce my usage. No way I'm going to get below last year's average now that I'm driving an EV.
For now, yeah, we're all in the same price boat. But I know someone who consults for BC Hydro and I asked them last week if they are considering time of use pricing at all given the rise in electric cars; they said they'd heard talk of it as a possibility. I also saw this on the BC Hydro website:
"The rate for charging an electric vehicle in B.C. is currently identical to that being charged to power any other electrical devices in the home. BC Hydro is, however, investigating an EV-specific rate." Electric vehicles & your BC Hydro bill
"The rate for charging an electric vehicle in B.C. is currently identical to that being charged to power any other electrical devices in the home. BC Hydro is, however, investigating an EV-specific rate." Electric vehicles & your BC Hydro bill
I calculated this way:
My current average wh/km shows 155 right now, meaning 0.155 kWh per km. I average drive 800 km per month. 800km x 0.155kWh/km x $0.142/kWh = $17.6/mth. If I'm still drive my ICE car, it will cost me 800km x 0.122L/km x $1.5/L = $146.4. So $128.8 savings.
If I use $51.12 a month, that means I drive 360/0.155 = 2323 km per month. Savings would be 2323 x 0.122 x 1.5 - 51.12 = $373.99/mth.
That would be of course under few assumptions like the average usage in wh/km, electricity price tier, gas price, etc. I'm actually still within the tier 1 (under 1350kWh), so 800km x 0.155kWh/km x $0.0945/kWh = $11.72/mth
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In the winter they've run a trial program called "Peak Saver" that I've been in a couple times. When a really cold day is forecast, they let you know ahead of time that they will give you a bill credit of $1/kw/h for usage you shift outside of peak time. (The calculate your expected usage based on you average of the days leading up to the "event".)
Of course now that I have an EV, it will create an incentive for me to charge during peak hours (5-8pm I think it was) and only delay charging on days I will get a credit for it.
There's no peak and off-peak in BC. only tier 1 ($0.0945 per kWh for first 1,350 in an average two month billing period) and tier 2 ($0.1417 per kWh over the 1,350 Step 1 threshold.).
I was referring to an invite-only trial that the general public would not be aware of. You still pay the same rates, but if you reduce your consumption during peak time on especially cold days in winter (I think there were perhaps a half dozen this past winter) they credit you $1/kwh for what you reduced/shifted.
In Mexico there are three tiers plus a high-user charge. People can get a separate meter installed for an EV. That way use of an EV does not push them into a higher tier.
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