Time of Use (TOU) electricity rates have been effective in getting customers to shift consumption away from periods of peak demand, according to a report released by economists at the Brattle Group.
Load shifting results for four regions and all of Ontario, 2012-2014. Depending on the LDC, implementation began over a range of dates from 2009 – 2012. Black bars indicate confidence intervals.
The authors used a modelling technique to compare the observed effect of the rates with a hypothetical alternative that would have continued with business as usual. The results, showing a considerable and progressive reduction in peak usage, are visible in figure 1.
The authors note that, aside from Italy, Ontario is the only region in the world to have provided all of its residential customers with smart meters, and to have deployed TOU rates for generation charges to all those who stay with the regulated supply option. Customers also had the option to opt out and choose a flat rate offered by a competitive retail supplier. The article studies the effect of TOU rates on consumption, from their inception in 2009 through to the end of 2014.
According to the article, California is set to follow suit in 2019, by defaulting all eleven million residential customers of the state’s investor-owned utilities onto
TOU.
"The Impact of Time-of-Use Rates in Ontario" was published in February in Public Utilities Fortnightly. The full article is available at brattle.com > News and Knowledge > Publications. http://brattle.com/system/news/pdfs/000/001/180/original/The_Impact_of_Time_of_Use_Rates_in_Ontario.pdf?1486594497