Shift and Save

Shift and Save is a time-of-use (TOU) rate that enables you to save money if you shift your energy use away from the high-demand evening and overnight hours that are at a higher kWh rate. The more you shift your energy usage away from those hours, the more money you could save.

About 4% of customers were selected at random to participate in the Shift and Save pilot program. The selection process looked at customers from Oahu and Hawaii Island who were currently on the schedule R, G and J rates and had advanced meters installed before December 2022. Customers on existing time of use rates (TOU-RI for example) were not selected.

Participation

How Shift and Save rates work

The daytime rate is the lowest to encourage customers to take advantage of abundant solar power during the middle of the day. Conversely, the evening peak rate is the highest.

"A chart showing the three differing price ranges of high, medium, and low for each of the three time periods for Shift and Save. The Daytime period, 9 am - 5 pm is first on the left side of the chart in the color green. Repreenting the lowest cost of the three time periods with a singular $ and with a description about the colored section:"Use solar energy from the electrical grid when most abundant and save with the lowest rate." To the right of the Daytime period in orange is the Evening Peak, 5 pm - 9 pm, representing the highest cost with 3 $ and a description above it:"Reduce energy use during this time when energy is at its highest" Lastly, to the right of the evening peak is the Overnight period, 9 pm - 9 am, colored in with dark blue and representing the medium cost with 2 $ and with the description above it:"Conserve energy use or SHIFT energy use to Daytime hours."

Rate periods are:

• Daytime: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Evening peak: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Overnight: 9 p.m. to 9 a.m.

Shift and Save Rates

How to track your usage

The My Energy Use Portal provides a helpful way to view your electricity usage down to 15-minute intervals. This tool can help you track your usage by showing when you use your electricity the most. You can see how running appliances during different times of the day affects your usage chart and plan accordingly to lower your bill.

Analyzing shifts in usage

The Rate Comparison tool is part of the My Energy Use portal. It can be used to compare how your bill would look on a different rate.

The tool also has a module called What If Analysis that simulates shifting energy consumption around to different times of the day. This allows you to estimate how making changes in your energy usage behavior can potentially impact your bill.

Comparing rates

What If Analysis

Changes to your bill presentment

Some elements of your bill will look different from typical schedule R, G and J rates.

Sample Schedule R Bill

Sample Schedule G Bill

Sample Schedule J Bill

Here is a breakdown of the differences:

Charges

The Energy Charge will be split up into three charges for each rate period: Daytime, Evening Peak and Overnight. Customers will notice a lower Customer Charge on their monthly electric bill. There will also be a Grid Access Charge which is a fixed monthly amount to recover customer-related service connection costs.

Usage chart

Your usage chart will be displayed as a stacked bar chart, with each color representing a time period.

Usage type

The usage section will show how much electricity was used during each rate period in kWh.

Energy Cost Recovery Charge (ECRC)

The ECRC adjustment will be broken down into the three rate periods. For more information on ECRC or other parts of the standard bill, visit our Understanding Elements of Your Bill page.

Protection Credit

For residential customers there is a 6-month protection period. During this time, residential Shift and Save bills cannot go higher than $10 of what would have been charged on the pre-pilot rate for the same month. In this scenario a TOU Protection Credit will appear on the bill here. A similar credit will apply for the first six months to commercial customers who are part of the pilot; their bill increase will be limited to 4% above what they would have been charged on the existing rate.

Shift and Save Tips

Customers should change their habits to maximize necessary electricity use to the daytime and limit evening peak usage as much as possible.

Monthly cost comparison of when appliances are used

Various heavy appliances consume large amounts of electricity when in use. These heavy appliances provide an opportunity to save money by running them during the cheaper rates when possible. Taking the time to understand how different routines can affect cost is a great way to start saving. The following table helps give an estimate of the cost difference between running different appliances at different rates and times.

Appliance	Use	kWh/Month	Daytime Cost/Month*	Evening Peak Cost/Month*	Overnight Cost/Month*
Range, large surface unit	15 min/day	18 kWh	$3.14	$9.41	$6.27
Oven	2 hrs/day	25.6 kWh	$4.46	$13.38	$8.92
Clothes washer	6 hrs/wk	6.12 kWh	$1.07	$3.20	$2.13
Clothes dryer	6 hrs/wk	66.96 kWh	$11.67	$35.00	$23.33
Monthly Total			$20.34	$60.99	$40.65

*Rates and calculations are an approximation based on approved time-of-use rates for Oahu, Maui and Hawaii Island.

Smart thermostat

Use a smart thermostat to control the temperature in your house. Setting an air conditioner to run from 4:30 to 5pm can cool down the house while only using electricity from the cheapest period.

Home battery system

A home battery system can store energy during the day so that it can be used during the evening. The battery system can gather energy from your storage system or from the grid during the cheaper daytime rate. Using your home battery's electricity during the evening can offset the higher peak price of electricity.

Laundry

Do laundry during the day on the weekend rather than in the evening.

Dishwasher

Run your dishwasher during the day. Running other heavy appliances during the day can have the same effect.

Water heaters

Install a timer and set it to heat your water heater during the day before evening peak hours.

Pool pumps

Schedule pool pumps/filters and automatic cleaning to run during the daytime hours

Unplug devices

Some devices can still use electricity even when you consider them off. Unplugging TVs, printers, and videogame consoles when not in use can help save electricity throughout the whole day. An advanced power strip can make this easier by preventing electrical flow unless a specific device is turned on. For example you can have it so that your consoles, disc players and stereo are only able to use electricity when the TV is on.

Electric vehicles

Charge your electric vehicle when rates are low. Electric vehicles have many benefits already but also have synergy with Time of Use rates. Charging your vehicles during low rate periods can make that electric vehicle provide even more cost savings. Some electric vehicles make this easier by allowing you to set when it will charge.

Smart plugs

Use smart plugs to automatically control the time schedule of lighting and other devices