JEA is considering developing a pilot program to evaluate charging residential electric customers higher rates when they’re using more electricity and cutting the rate when usage is down.
For example, the unit cost of electricity could be billed at a lower rate when fewer electric devices are in use, such as at night.
By comparison, using a washing machine, dryer, electric oven, one or more flat-screen televisions and an air conditioner would increase the cost per unit.
The rate structure could be similar to one offered to JEA’s high-usage commercial customers who pay less per megawatt-hour when they use electricity at times when overall system demand is below the peak.
A draft of the theory behind the “Residential Demand Rate” was presented to the community-owned utility’s board of directors Tuesday.
Chief Financial Officer Melissa Dykes said if the program is developed and implemented, it could encourage customers to reduce usage during maximum demand periods.
That could allow customers to control the cost of a unit of electricity, thereby stabilizing or possibly reducing their monthly bill.
On the utility’s side of the proposal, Dykes said implementing the plan could improve system efficiency, reduce JEA’s fixed costs and better align the cost of generating electricity to revenue, since customers currently are billed on total consumption rather than peak demand.
Also under consideration is a new billing rate for streetlights.
The most recent streetlight cost of service study was completed in 1996, decades before energy-efficient technology such as the LED was available.
New streetlight electric rates are scheduled to be proposed in June that better reflect the cost of operation and are aligned with improved energy standards.
Under consideration is a multi-tiered LED streetlight rate that could give the city – JEA’s largest streetlight customer – and other users the option of installing more energy-efficient lights.
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