How to choose the best Evergy rate plan for you — and other reader questions, answered
Evergy’s Missouri customers will soon see a switch to new time-based electricity rates.
Kansas Citians are already seeing mailers, emails and even billboards advertising the four new rate plans, which all adjust the price of electricity at different times of the day.
The key takeaway: All four plans charge a premium for electricity used between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays. And they all offer a discount on electricity used between midnight and 6 a.m. every day.
The idea behind these plans, called “time-of-use” rates, is to reduce the strain on the power grid during peak demand times by adjusting customers’ electricity use behavior. Around 10 million electric customers around the country already use these rates — although some of them have higher bills than they did on flat-rate plans.
As the mandatory switch approaches, we’ve been hearing from readers with questions about these new rate plans. Here are the answers to three questions we’ve heard.
A reader asked: Can you help me better understand my options to choose the best way to lower my new higher electric rates?
The plan that best suits your lifestyle will depend a lot on your electricity use habits. Here’s an overview of the four options:
Standard Peak Saver: This is the default plan that most Missouri customers will be switched to if they don’t choose a plan themselves. It charges higher prices from 4-8 p.m. on weekdays only in the summer, and lower prices overnight throughout the year. Evergy recommends it for everyday electricity users.
Peak Reward Saver: This plan is the closest to a flat rate. It charges a small premium from 4-8 p.m. every day, and offers a small discount between midnight and 6 a.m. every night. It may be a good choice for those whose electricity use habits are hard to predict.
Nights & Weekends Saver: This plan charges a lot more during peak hours, but offers big discounts overnight. Evergy recommends it for those with the flexibility to do laundry, run the dishwasher and use other large appliances at night after 8 p.m. and on weekends.
Nights & Weekends Max Saver: This plan charges the largest premiums during peak hours, but offers the biggest savings overnight. Evergy recommends it for customers who can run their largest appliances like dryers, dishwashers, HVAC systems and electric vehicle chargers between midnight and 6 a.m.
Customers are also able to switch between rate plans any time. That means if you have certain electricity habits in the summer that change in the winter, you can swap your plan out for a different one when the colder months arrive.
Check out the graph below to see the actual cost of electricity on each plan during different times of the day, week and year. Each color represents a new rate plan, while the gray bars show what electricity costs an average customer now.
A reader asked: Does Ameren in the St. Louis area have this rate plan?
Ameren customers on the eastern side of Missouri will also be adopting time-of-use rate plans this fall — but their options will be slightly different from those available through Evergy.
Ameren offers customers five rate choices — but one of them is the flat rate that customers already pay now. That effectively means that customers can opt out of time-of-use rates if they don’t want to be charged varying amounts for electricity at different times of the day.
Evergy’s original proposal for its time-of-use rates in the western part of the state had this option too. But the Missouri Public Service Commission, which regulates for-profit utility monopolies, decided to remove this option.
The commission hasn’t yet elaborated on why Ameren customers can opt out of time-based rates, but Evergy customers can’t.
A reader asked: It seems that historical information is not available for my home. How are home owners supposed to pick a usage plan if the data is not available to see one’s usage?
If you aren’t sure which plan to choose, Evergy can calculate the one that would save you the most money based on your electricity use habits from the past year. To use it, log into your online account and select the rate comparison tool.
If the rate comparison tool isn’t working for you, you may want to choose an electricity rate based on the descriptions of your electricity use habits above. For example, if you have an electric vehicle that you charge overnight, the Nights & Weekends Max Saver plan may be a good fit.
Evergy spokesperson Courtney Lewis recommended calling the time-of-use hotline at 888-541-0407.
However, you don’t actually have to choose a plan yourself: Evergy’s Missouri customers will be automatically switched onto the Standard Peak Saver plan this fall if they haven’t already opted into one of the four plan options.
Evergy’s Missouri Metro customers will see the switch begin Oct. 1, while Missouri West customers will be switched starting on Nov. 1. You can check which region you belong to through your online account or on the map below:
Do you have more questions about Evergy’s new time-of-use electricity rates? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
