How to save on your electricity bill with the new hourly rates
The enforcement of the new hourly electricity bill has caused a general concern among citizens about how the new Government measure will impact their pockets. Would you like to discover the fundamentals and how to save on your electricity bill? Let us tell you about it.
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What are the new hourly rates?
The new electricity bill consists of the implementation of three time slots comprising different established prices per day: the peak hours (the most expensive), the normal hours (average prices), and the off-peak hours (the cheapest). This new measure, which was introduced at the beginning of June, places greater emphasis on consumption over the fixed aspect in order to force households to change their daily routines and become more efficient in their energy consumption.
It should be noted that the fixed cost of electricity, depending on the contracted power, can now be chosen by users. Whereas before there was a standard price for all hours of the day, now the consumer will be able to choose between two different power ratings for the different electricity tiers.
This new electricity bill will also include a fixed payment to the electricity company for the meter rental and two other taxes that will be reflected in this bill, electricity tax and VAT.
What hours of the day are more expensive?
This new measure will benefit, and will generate savings on electricity bills, for all those users who manage to adapt their habits to the off-peak hours of the day. Still don't know what they are? Take note of them!
Peak hours: the most expensive slot of the day will be the so-called peak hours, which will cover two different time periods: from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 18:00 to 22:00.
Normal hours: this is the second most expensive electricity slot of the day and runs from 08:00 to 10:00, from 14:00 to 18:00, and from 22:00 to 24:00.
Off-peak hours: this period is the cheapest and includes several electrical time slots, which are: from 00:00 to 8:00, on weekends and holidays.
Tips to save on your electricity bill
Consum wants to offer you a few recommendations to save on your electricity bill.
- Adapt the contracted power to the real needs of your home.
- Do not plug in several electrical appliances at the same time and keep everything that is not in use unplugged, because even if you are not using it, it still consumes energy when it is plugged in.
- Shift your consumption and activities that you can postpone to off-peak and weekend periods.
- Programme the appliances that consume the most energy, such as washing machines and dishwashers, to operate during off-peak hours. Nowadays there are many electronic devices that let you carry out this function from your mobile phone. Another option is to buy electrical programmers (analogue or digital) and programme them to switch on the appliance during off-peak hours.
