Maine Electricity Tariffs - CMP A-TOU-OPTS, A-TOU and A-LM

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Central Maine Power (CMP) pricing:

Pricing - cmp - Avangrid

Pricing

www.cmpco.com

Scroll down past the historical Tariffs for the list of current tariffs.

A is the standard residential tariff

A-TOU-OPTS
Service Fee: $31.nn ( currently says 13.44 but will go up in December)
kWh Charges:
On-Peak $0.053838/kWh
All Other Hours $0.053838/kWh

Supposedly it's intended for people with EVs or heat pumps who'd have a higher monthly load as a result. I haven't done the math properly yet, but you may start saving over the standard tariff somewhere around 600-700kWh.

This is a significant change from before. A-TOU-OPTS (Supersaver) which I was on had a big swing for off-peak/shoulder v peak and we're often mid-80s% off peak so worked out well for us. We'll be paying a lot more, I believe.

A-TOU is the standard Time of Use tariff, with smaller delivery price swings, but was worse for us than the Supersaver because we were so heavily off-peak or shoulder.

(Supersaver A-TOU-OPTS charged Shoulder 12pm-4pm weekdays at off-peak rates, whereas A-TOU charges shoulder at peak rates).

A-LM is Residential Load Management. It requires you to have a 2nd metered service. The per-kWh off-peak DELIVERY* rate is _very_ low for this at $0.010877 /kWh.
But it does have an $18.17/month service charge. So it could work out, for example, if you do a lot of electric miles and could have a separate meter for your charging.

If you have an EV and/or heat pump and are served by CMP it's definitely worth looking into the various options rather than sticking with A.

If you are a CMP customer you can download your data for analysis here:

https://ecmp.cmpco.com/ecmp/EnergyManager/GreenButton

You can download as a CSV so you can import it into a spreadsheet.
Or you can download XML for import into some other tools.
Last time I downloaded I did figure out that their hour was the hour _to_, not _from_, and if that's still the case, you have to deduct 1 hour to ensure the day and hour is correct for peak/off-peak calculations.

* The ENERGY charge is a separate per-kWh fee.

 

[Gwgan]

Some of these rates changed on October 1 without prior notice.

 

[Gwgan]

As I read it, if one has an EV with the A-LM rate on a second meter they pay ~$18/mo AND pay a separate rate plan on the original meter. That would be a discount of about $0.5/kWh at a cost of the base fee but only if you charged during off-peak 8p-7a.
Not good for continuous load like heat pump.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

As I read it, if one has an EV with the A-LM rate on a second meter they pay ~$18/mo AND pay a separate rate plan on the original meter. That would be a discount of about $0.5/kWh at a cost of the base fee but only if you charged during off-peak 8p-7a.
Not good for continuous load like heat pump.

That's how I read it also. So the new A-TOU-OPTS' high fee is essentially A fee + A-LM fee, and you'll not get the 50kWh included on the A rate. Then the delivery price is somewhere between A's rate, and A-LM's very low off-peak rate.

I don't (yet?) have a heat pump, just my PEVs and I did a rough calculation last night, and it seems that it would cost more to have A on my house and A-LM on my garage (separate meters/services) where I be charging my PEVs off-peak. However, my winter EV electricity would be higher then the last two winters if I can finally be collision free (hit in parking lot year 1, hit deer year 2), so I might be able to switch later.

I'll do a more precise calculation later.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Some of these rates changed on October 1 without prior notice.

Yes. They never seem to give notice of price changes. I usually look at the beginning of July, which has been the usual time of Delivery pricing changes, but they've made other later changes before and this time.

 

[Gwgan]

Just spoke with CMP billing support. They were surprised by these new rates and it will take time to implement. This is not related to the rate increase being discussed in the news. Current TOU-OPTS (super saver) users will continue to be charged the $13.44 delivery fee through December 1 when it changes to ~$31 but there may be a retroactive bill adjustment next Spring for the per kWh charges (seemingly in favor of the customer since the peak rate lowers to the off-peak rate). The standard TOU plan does not change and the fee remains $13.44 (for now).

If you get a separate meter for your EV or heat pump etc you could use A-LM (Load Management) plan and pay $18.17/month but have a $0.011/kWh off peak rate on that meter and probably choose regular A service on the other meter for all other domestic consumption which has a minimum charge of $13.73 for the first 50 kWh. Support had a note that the super save rate is only good for customers using more than 800kWh/month (which is me in Winter). Note that the A-LM rate has peak/shoulder $0.16/kWh 7a-8p on weekends and holidays, off-peak is only at night--sneaky.

Since I almost always net out all my use with solar and batteries it made sense for me to formally switch from TOU-OPTS to TOU to avoid the whole change to $31.nn in December and if I get caught in early Spring without any credits in the net metering bank at least I can be sure to charge the car at night during off-peak. What I lose is the afternoon off-peak period but that won't have an impact on my life until net metering expires although peak/shoulder $0.13/kWh is 56% higher than the A plan at $0.09/kWh.

If PUC wants to promote EV charging during times of excess solar production this is not the way. These plans lower the cost of charging during the night and do not take advantage of any afternoon surplus--which I see as supporting base load plants , most of which is fossil fuel based.

 

[Gwgan]

Powerwall, what does delta do?

All was well until my TOU plan changed to drop the afternoon off-peak period. Now my PW is down to 20% and not charging on full solar. Support says it is because I don't have a delta between the buy and sell prices but I have a net metering which values 1 kWh in = 1 kWh out so there is no delta...

teslamotorsclub.com

Without a sunny-time off-peak period my Powerwalls stopped charging (during the week) and instead of explaining why, Tesla support insisted I use made up prices in the settings. The above thread helped me understand the situation.

I have written to the Public Advocate to request they bring back an off-peak period when there is excess solar. Ideally we should have something like the Agile tariff available in England but CMP is not going to do that, they can barely manage the plans they have now.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1583152437702975488

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

A-TOU-OPTS is now officially canceled.
The new rate is called AELECTECH.
https://www.cmpco.com/wps/portal/cmp/account/understandyourbill/pricing/
(URL to rate document has lots of crap in it so I'm not posting here.)
Funny thing is that when you load the PDF the title of the browser page is still "Optional TOU Rate Residential Service".

BASIC RATE PER MONTH
Electric Technology
Service Fee: $31.67
kWh Charges: $0.052507/kWh

Note the requirements:
SPECIAL CONDITIONS
1. Loads of Intermittent, Irregular, or Occasional Use
Energy may be supplied under this rate for service to equipment which is used only
intermittently, irregularly or occasionally, provided the Company's distribution facilities
are, in the judgment of the Company, suitable for the service requested. Where such
capacity and facilities do not already exist, the Company may require separately metered
service for such loads.

Essentially, it will be targeted at customers with PEVs and heat pumps.

For heat pumps there's also A-SEASONAL, which has a similar high service price, and is expensive May to October, but cheap November through April.

 

[Gwgan]

I don’t see how heat pumps are intermittent if used every day in the winter or seasonal if used for air conditioning in the summer.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

I don’t see how heat pumps are intermittent if used every day in the winter or seasonal if used for air conditioning in the summer.

I expect the tech tariff is more about the chargers, and the seasonal is more about the heat pumps, with the high summer price set to discourage excessive use for AC.

But the fact that the electech tariff is flat is heat pump friendly.

 

[Wabsa]

I just quickly ran the numbers for my situation on the AELECTECH rate mentioned above based on my consumption for the last 2 years.

We have 2 heat pumps providing all of our heating and cooling (added a 3rd this summer for better balance) and a Model Y (which I can charge at work) and consumed 11 and 12.5mWh over the 2 years.

Using the Jan 2023 listed rates we would have saved around $150 each year, but we have solar that produces 80-90% of our usage so it make no sense for us anyway due to the increased monthly "fee" , I just wanted to see what the numbers worked out to if we didn't have Solar.

I'm curious though what other Maine folks are using for their supply offer?

 

[Gwgan]

Some small changes and new additions to CMP delivery rates as of Jan 1 2023

Plan A (regular plan) Old vs New (slightly lower)

<50kWh	$13.77	$13.66
>50kWh	$0.087751/kWh	$0.086420/kWh

Plan TOU-OPTS

Cancelled

was the only plan with afternoon Off-Peak period

Plan TOU Old vs New

Service Fee	$13.44	$13.44
Peak	$0.133762/kWh	$0.132431/kWh
Off-Peak	$0.065071/kWh	$0.063740/kWh

Plan A-LM New plan for "monthly demands below 20 kW who agree to install a second metered point of delivery" (20kWh?)

Service Fee	$18.17
Peak	$0.154209
Off-Peak	$0.011463/kWh

Plan AELECTECH new, experimental, limited availability "Residential customers can benefit from this rate if their monthly usage is at least 800 kWh", the new "Electric Technology Rate". There is a calculator on the CMP site to see if it would help lower costs

Service Fee	$31.67
all kWh rate	$0.052507

Plan A-Seasonal for those "who have an eligible device that is used to heat or supplement another heat source for their home or part of their home by transferring thermal energy from the outside with the use of the refrigeration cycle.", separately metered, the "Heat Pump rate". There is a calculator on the CMP site to see if it would help lower costs. "A Pilot to test the effectiveness and adoption of this rate will be conducted from January 1, 2023. The Pilot will be limited to no more than 5,000 participants."

Service Fee	$31.67
May-October	$0.158188/kWh
November-April	$0.004064/kWh

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

BTW, where they say calculator, if you don't trust them, you can download your smart meter info for any 12 month period.

 

[Gwgan]

The regular Plan A does not charge for the first 50 kWh while the other plans do. State sales tax 5.5% is applied on billed use above 750kWh.
Since I got solar in 2017 I've avoided close to $600 in sales tax.

 

[Gwgan]

I'm working on a Quantrix spreadsheet to be able to compare different plans based on bill history. I could try it out on other people's data if they like.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

I'm working on a Quantrix spreadsheet to be able to compare different plans based on bill history. I could try it out on other people's data if they like.

If you do it, note that the time slot in the XLS data seems to be hour _ending_ instead of hour starting, so you'll need to take that into account for TOU.
(I use LibreOffice). I found that out because the numbers for evening hours didn't look right and double-checked the hours around Daylight Savings time and could see the "wrong" hour.

 

[Gwgan]

Yes, and I do have a spreadsheet for that kind of analysis too but this one just uses total kWh consumed from the monthly bill for a what-if comparison using current prices.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Electricity Prices | Governor's Energy Office

How are electricity prices set in Maine? Your residential electric bill has two components: Supply, which is the cost to generate the electricity you use;

www.maine.gov

I don't know when they were announced but Standard Offer Prices for 2024 have been announced. This is only the standard cost of energy from the grid, unless you sign up with a different provider. The supply price had dropped by 1 cent in July for most people in Maine to compensate for an increase in delivery prices that included solar subsidies.

Although the Standard Offer Prices for most has decreased back below 2022 levels, they are still much higher than than they were in 2018.
(I found the earlier data on another page at the website)

Residential Standard Offer Supply Rates per kWh	Central Maine Power	Versant Power - Bangor Hydro District	Versant Power - Maine Public District
2018	$0.0792063	$0.07225
2019	$0.090029	$0.083695
2020	$0.073037	$0.068785	$0.067294
2021	$0.064494	$0.061960	$0.060267
2022	$0.11816	$0.11684	$0.11088
2023 (1/1 – 7/14)	$0.17631	$0.16438	$0.14879
2023 (7/15 - 12/31)	$0.166	$0.154	$0.148
2024	$0.1084	$0.1076	$0.1129

Delivery Price	Central Maine Power	Versant Power - Bangor Hydro District	Versant Power - Maine Public District
A	$0.090499	$0.14846	$0.122389
A-ELECTECH	$0.052560

I'm in the CMP area so my cost in January will drop by 5.74c/kWh. Assuming my annual wall-to-wheel average is 3.2mi/kWh that's a reduction of 1.79375 c/kWh, plus for marginal use above 750kWh/month +5.5% sales tax.

 

[kayak1]

Electricity Prices | Governor's Energy Office

How are electricity prices set in Maine? Your residential electric bill has two components: Supply, which is the cost to generate the electricity you use;

www.maine.gov

I don't know when they were announced but Standard Offer Prices for 2024 have been announced. This is only the standard cost of energy from the grid, unless you sign up with a different provider. The supply price had dropped by 1 cent in July for most people in Maine to compensate for an increase in delivery prices that included solar subsidies.

Although the Standard Offer Prices for most has decreased back below 2022 levels, they are still much higher than than they were in 2018.
(I found the earlier data on another page at the website)

Residential Standard Offer Supply Rates per kWh	Central Maine Power	Versant Power - Bangor Hydro District	Versant Power - Maine Public District
2018	$0.0792063	$0.07225
2019	$0.090029	$0.083695
2020	$0.073037	$0.068785	$0.067294
2021	$0.064494	$0.061960	$0.060267
2022	$0.11816	$0.11684	$0.11088
2023 (1/1 – 7/14)	$0.17631	$0.16438	$0.14879
2023 (7/15 - 12/31)	$0.166	$0.154	$0.148
2024	$0.1084	$0.1076	$0.1129

Delivery Price	Central Maine Power	Versant Power - Bangor Hydro District	Versant Power - Maine Public District
A	$0.090499	$0.14846	$0.122389
A-ELECTECH	$0.052560

I'm in the CMP area so my cost in January will drop by 5.74c/kWh. Assuming my annual wall-to-wheel average is 3.2mi/kWh that's a reduction of 1.79375 c/kWh, plus for marginal use above 750kWh/month +5.5% sales tax.

The base monthly charge has increased over the last few years and should be factored in.

It's also worth looking at the new seasonal heat pump rate:

https://www.cmpco.com/account/understandyourbill/newseasonalheatpumprate

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

The base monthly charge has increased over the last few years and should be factored in.

It's also worth looking at the new seasonal heat pump rate:

https://www.cmpco.com/account/understandyourbill/newseasonalheatpumprate

If I had a heat pump, I'd use the heat pump rate, but I don't so it'd be more expensive for me due to AC use in summer.
Quick calculation says $290 more expensive than the Electric Technology rate.