The kitchen lights flip on. The coffee maker hums. Breakfast is made. Lunches are packed.
It’s a familiar morning hustle-and-bustle. Most of us use more energy at the same times — early morning and early evening. That shared routine puts pressure on the electric grid and increases the cost Boone Power pays for the power we deliver to you during those hours.
We’re introducing an optional pilot program to reduce overall demand for electricity and give members more control over their energy bills.
What does time-of-use mean?
Beginning Aug. 1*, Boone Power will offer an optional time-of-use pilot program to those on the General Service rate (This is the rate most residential members are on) in which the price of electricity varies by when you use it.
- On-peak (7–9 a.m., 4–7 p.m.) = highest cost
- Off-peak (most daytime and evening hours) = lower cost
- Super off-peak (11 p.m.–5 a.m.) = lowest cost
Instead of paying the same rate all day, members on this optional plan can save money by shifting some energy use to lower-cost times. Under our general service rate, which most residential members are on, you pay $0.12445 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumed.
If you choose to enroll in the pilot program, you will be charged $0.27117/kWh during on-peak hours, $0.08667/kWh during off-peak hours, and $0.07167/kWh during super off-peak hours.
How can this optional rate help members save?
The key to making the time-of-use program beneficial is small adjustments. That busy kitchen scene? Morning might not be the best time to run the dishwasher or start a load of laundry.
For members who are home during the day, like those who are retired or regularly work from home, midday can be a beneficial time to tackle bigger energy tasks — such as laundry or more energy-intensive cooking — and adjust the thermostat when demand is lower.
Dinner time is another high-demand window. Simple swaps, like using a microwave or air fryer instead of the oven, or utilizing the delay-start function on your dishwasher instead of starting it up right after dinner, can help reduce your energy costs with this new program.
Nighttime is where the biggest opportunity lives. Besides dishwashers, electric vehicles can be set to charge overnight. Smart plugs let you set devices like mobile phones and tablets to charge after 11 p.m. so that you can take advantage of the lowest available rate.
Members who can shift some of their energy use to off-peak hours are more likely to see savings.
Those who can’t may not see as much benefit in this optional rate.
That’s why Boone Power has created a custom online calculator that uses your past 12 months of energy use to estimate how this rate would have affected your bill. It’s a way to explore the option before making a decision.
Why is Boone Power offering an optional pilot program?
Boone Power purchases the electricity that we deliver to our customers. Electricity costs Boone Power more during periods of highest demand. While we can’t directly control this cost, a time-of-use rate gives members more control over their energy costs. It can help the cooperative control overall costs by reducing peak demand and the higher costs associated with peak hours.
This optional pilot program is a way to test whether time-of-use pricing can benefit both individual households and the broader membership. The optional time-of-use rate will be offered as a one-year pilot program running from August 2026 through July 2027.*
Members can:
- Enroll at any time
- Return to the standard rate if it’s not a good fit
Please note: If enrolling or unenrolling after the pilot program’s initial launch,
it may take up to two billing cycles for the change to take effect.
At the end of the pilot, Boone Power will evaluate participation and cost impacts before deciding whether to make time-of-use a longer-term offering.
To learn more, explore your potential savings, or enroll, visit: boonepower.com/time-of-use.
*Use period beginning Aug. 1, 2026; billing statements issued in September 2026 will reflect the new rate for any members who enroll by July 31.
