Beginning in March of 2024, Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative will add a demand component for all rate classes.
A demand charge is a variable charge that’s measured in kilowatts (kW), and it’s based on the intensity at which electricity is used at a given time. Meaning, if your AC unit is running at the same time as your dishwasher, oven, dryer, or any other large electrical appliance, your electrical demand will be higher than if you were to spread out the use of those appliances throughout the day. If your electric use was a car, demand would be similar to the top speed of your vehicle during a trip and your kWh would be similar to the total miles driven on that trip.
The addition of the demand component coincides with a larger rate restructuring. We're also lowering the kWh charge and updating our base charge.
Curious about how your electrical devices effect your demand? Check out our demand calculator to see how your daily habits will effect your bill!
Members have always been paying for their demand. It has just been embedded in the variable kWh charge. We must build our distribution system to be able to withstand each member's highest electric use, even if it only happens once in a while. This effort to equitably distribute costs as well as the board of directors' goal of collecting more of EIEC's distribution-side fixed costs apart from kWh in the next few years led to this change in how we bill our members.
Currently, we build and maintain an electrical grid that can support the highest potential demand from all members. It’s expensive to build and maintain this system when we only need to support that much electricity use during a short period of time each year. If we can all decrease our demand, we can eventually lower the cooperative’s costs for the electrical system, resulting in lower costs for all members in the future.
The demand component on your monthly bill will represent the 15-minute interval with the highest energy consumption during the billing period. It is measured in kilowatts (kW). You are billed a per kW rate multiplied by the total kW of the single highest interval. The demand component will be reset each month, based on your peak demand for that specific billing period.
Staggering the use of major appliances is the easiest way to manage your energy and demand charges. When you consistently stagger the use of major appliances so they don’t run at the same time, you can keep your demand low. Make it easier by utilizing technology that helps you remember to offset energy use like timers, delay start settings, mobile apps and programmable thermostats.
Here are some helpful tips to manage your demand:
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Run the dishwasher after you’re done cooking dinner. Even better, use the delay start
feature so your dishwasher runs later at night while everyone is in bed. -
Start your clothes washer before you go to bed in the evening, and then run the
dryer after everyone has finished cooking breakfast the following morning. -
Grill outside or use small cooking appliances if the air conditioning is running.
Bonus: you won’t overheat your kitchen on a hot day. -
Set your electric vehicle charger to run after you’ve turned off other appliances for the day.
Small changes in how you use your household appliances can help you see the corresponding affect to your energy and demand, and Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative's demand rate can put you in the driver’s seat of your electric bill.
