How to get cheaper power bills with a time-of-use plan

When are the most expensive and the cheapest periods?

Since electricity isn’t easy to store, it typically needs to be generated right when we need it. During peak times – like on weekday mornings when everyone’s getting ready for the day – it’s harder for the electricity system to keep up with demand. That means the system has to rely on increasingly more expensive ways to generate electricity, so prices go up.

On the flip side, during off-peak times – like overnight or on weekends – it’s easier and cheaper to generate enough electricity to meet lower demand, so prices drop. Power companies can buy electricity in bulk during these off-peak times at lower rates. Then pass those savings on to you via time-of-use plans.

Time-of-use plans typically have three price periods:

Will a time-of-use plan save me money?

Time-of-use plans are most beneficial for households that can shift their electricity use to off-peak times and are motivated to keep it up.

If your household uses a lot of electricity – for things like a spa pool, swimming pool or electric hot-water cylinder – and you’re able to run these during off-peak hours, you could see significant savings.

Time-of-use plans are particularly suitable for electric vehicle owners who can charge their cars overnight when electricity rates are lowest. In fact, about 70% of electric vehicle owners already do this to save money.

However, if you’re not able to change your electricity habits much – such as households with young kids who need to use power at all hours, or those who use gas for heating – time-of-use plans might not be as beneficial for you.

How can you save the most with time-of-use plans?

How much you save with time-of-use plans really depends on how much you can shift your electricity use to the cheaper times of the day or the weekend. The more you can do that, the more you’ll save!

Here are some easy ways to save with time-of-use plans:

• Charge your electric vehicle overnight or on weekends
• Get in the habit of loading your dishwasher, dryer and washing machine, and hitting the delay button for the start of the cycle or waiting until before you go to bed to turn them on
• Consider using timers on hot-water cylinders, spa pools and swimming pools, so they run during cheaper times.

Every little shift can add up to big savings!

How can I find a time-of-use plan?

We’ve made it easy. Visit our comparison and switching tool – it has a filter on its results page that allows you to see the time-of-use plans available at your location.