OG&E Smart Hours Pricing Alerts

[venture]

OG&E has their SmartHours pricing they essentially want everyone on. The rates are:

• Low: 4.5 cents per kilowatt hour
• Standard: 11.3 cents
• High: 23 cents
• Critical: 46 cents

Typically these only impact hours between 2 and 7 PM CT.

Today, June 26, will be the first "High" day for those on the program. We've only had 1 or 2 "Standard" days since the pricing kicked in June 1st. OG&E did just put out that between 3 and 6PM today they are going to bill at the "Critical" rate. So be sure to plan ahead and power things off to minimize exposure to the extreme rate.

[kevinpate]

Thinking I am glad I elected the flat rate fee instead.

[MustangGT]

Thinking I am glad I elected the flat rate fee instead.

Me too.

[BBatesokc]

Me too.

Me three.

But we do continually watch our detailed online usage and try and make adjustments since I assume the days of flat rate may end or be addicted up soon.

[Paule4ou]

Me three.

But we do continually watch our detailed online usage and try and make adjustments since I assume the days of flat rate may end or be addicted up soon.

You might want to check into Smart Hours....it CAN save you a ton. We were on the flat rate and i think it was 8.4 cents per kilwhr, on the smart hours it goes to 4.5 all day except 2-7 M-F and 4.5 cents all weekend long, regardless of how hot it gets. We blast our air in the mornings to pre-cool and then shut it off (actually its programmed) from 2-7. Never gets too hot, even in this weather.

We have three kids and my wife and I both office out of our 2400 sq ft home. Yesterday, we spent a TOTAL of $2.88 on electricity for the entire 24 hour period. The temp never got above 79-degrees in our house.

[SoonerBeerMan]

Paule - do you mind telling me what program you've got setup in your thermostat? Times, temps, etc. We're very similar to you, but our total yesterday was $5.88. Thanks!

[venture]

So Paule is the one who is skewing those "Efficient" user numbers that I always grumble at.

[ou48A]

Glad I bought a geothermal heat and air unit.

I Hardly ever even think about the electrical bill and I put the thermostat where ever I feel comfortable.
Usually that’s about 73 in day and 71 at night.
I bought a ClimateMaster (LXU)
They are based in OKC and manufacture some of the very best geothermal units in the world.
http://residential.climatemaster.com/about-us

[WilliamTell]

You might want to check into Smart Hours....it CAN save you a ton. We were on the flat rate and i think it was 8.4 cents per kilwhr, on the smart hours it goes to 4.5 all day except 2-7 M-F and 4.5 cents all weekend long, regardless of how hot it gets. We blast our air in the mornings to pre-cool and then shut it off (actually its programmed) from 2-7. Never gets too hot, even in this weather.

We have three kids and my wife and I both office out of our 2400 sq ft home. Yesterday, we spent a TOTAL of $2.88 on electricity for the entire 24 hour period. The temp never got above 79-degrees in our house.

Smart hours is a scam, its literally the same energy scam that Enron ran. The shuffle around power to create 'crisis' or maintenance so it will go into peak pricing at their whim. Last year they had over 20 peak pricing EVENTS (where electricity is 10x the cost of the normal cost). As it says on the ONG website those peak pricing events can happen at any time and can last for as long as they want them too.

Dont get me wrong, if you work at home and run your a/c 24/7 then go for it since you have some feasibility to schedule around their pricing plan. But for the average working person getting home from 3-5pm each evening its hard to justify not using your a/c, computer, dishwasher, washer, dryer, tv, cable box (or any of the other things it suggest) until 7pm while its 105 degrees outside.

For me i'll just leave everything off during the day and set our programable thermostat to come on 15 minutes before I get home and call it good.

[stick47]

The 1st year is a probationary period in that if your bill comes to more than it would have had you remained on the old plan they'll refund the difference. You can cancel for any reason and should if the program doesn't save you money. Why not sign up?

[hurrianeaden]

You might want to check into Smart Hours....it CAN save you a ton. We were on the flat rate and i think it was 8.4 cents per kilwhr, on the smart hours it goes to 4.5 all day except 2-7 M-F and 4.5 cents all weekend long, regardless of how hot it gets. We blast our air in the mornings to pre-cool and then shut it off (actually its programmed) from 2-7. Never gets too hot, even in this weather.

We have three kids and my wife and I both office out of our 2400 sq ft home. Yesterday, we spent a TOTAL of $2.88 on electricity for the entire 24 hour period. The temp never got above 79-degrees in our house.

I am interested in your settings as well. We are often gone in the mornings so I hate to pre-cool too much while the house is empty. I've had it turned off from about 9-noon or 12:30 and then set to pre-cool until 2pm. However, today (with the critical peek period) it got up to 88 in here from what I can tell. We weren't home in the early evening, but my energy usage sky rocketed and with the conservation setting it wouldn't have come on unless it was that hot. I used almost an entire kw hour from 6-7pm! Anyway, I would love some suggestions.

[WilliamTell]

The 1st year is a probationary period in that if your bill comes to more than it would have had you remained on the old plan they'll refund the difference. You can cancel for any reason and should if the program doesn't save you money. Why not sign up?

Like most energy company scams they can afford to run a longer term scam since they have a captive audience. Enron ran for years before they got so greedy with 'Peak' usage until people finally caught on. They get people to go to the program and after the first year they raise the prices or the number of critical days. Right now they are trying to rope people in to gain public acceptance.

California's population increased by 13% during the 1990s. The state did not build any new major power plants during that time, although existing in-state power plants were expanded and power output was increased nearly 30% from 1990 to 2001.

In the summer of 2001 a drought in the northwest states reduced the amount of hydroelectric power available to California. Though at no point during the crisis was California's sum of actual electric-generating capacity plus out-of-state supply less than demand, California's energy reserves were low enough that during peak hours the private industry which owned power-generating plants could effectively hold the State hostage by shutting down their plants for "maintenance" in order to manipulate supply and demand. These critical shutdowns often occurred for no other reason than to force California's electricity grid managers into a position where they would be forced to purchase electricity on the "spot market", where private generators could charge astronomical rates. Even though these rates were semi-regulated and tied to the price of natural gas, the companies (which included Enron and Reliant Energy) controlled the supply of natural gas as well. Manipulation by the industry of natural gas prices resulted in higher electricity rates that could be charged under the semi-regulations.

Sound familiar?

[pw405]

I signed up for the program, but I haven't yet got the free programmable thermostat. Last billing cycle, I didn't really make any effort to change my use, and I had the cheapest bill of the year at only $51. My house is right at 1000 sq feet, and is about 10 years old so it has decent insulation, but no shade during the day. So far I am very happy with it. Since the super hot past few days I have been turning everything off when I go to work except the ceiling fan (for my dog). I set the thermostat at 80 on the way to work. This billing cycle will be over in 3 days and this bill will only be $71 based on their projection. I love it and can't wait to get the free thermostat!

[bombermwc]

Well WilliamTell, they did get caught, although it took a full decade for the rulings to really come down on them.

So far, i haven't seen enough of the changes to really say that it's saved me much money. I sweat my butt off when i come home to an 80 degree house when an "Energy Event" is in place though. I've already come to hate that little group of lights on the thermostat...especially the red one.

[venture]

Another "High" rate day today. I'm sure they will put out another special notice of it being a critical day here soon.

I had to laugh last year when they did a critical day and it was only like 75 outside. I'm sure they made a nice healthy profit that day.

[BBatesokc]

I am interested in your settings as well. We are often gone in the mornings so I hate to pre-cool too much while the house is empty. I've had it turned off from about 9-noon or 12:30 and then set to pre-cool until 2pm. However, today (with the critical peek period) it got up to 88 in here from what I can tell. We weren't home in the early evening, but my energy usage sky rocketed and with the conservation setting it wouldn't have come on unless it was that hot. I used almost an entire kw hour from 6-7pm! Anyway, I would love some suggestions.

79 degrees?!!? No thank you. Thermostat sits on 73degrees here.

[bandnerd]

Isn't it harder on your a/c to have to cool it down 10 degrees then to just have it cycle normally throughout the day? We're not on smart hours, and I'm just keeping it at 77 during the day and 75 at night, roughly.

[venture]

Isn't it harder on your a/c to have to cool it down 10 degrees then to just have it cycle normally throughout the day? We're not on smart hours, and I'm just keeping it at 77 during the day and 75 at night, roughly.

I believe it is. I have mine set almost like you. It helps to even power usage since it isn't having to work so hard to catch up.

Also OG&E did declare their critical alert from 4 to 7pm today.

[Roadhawg]

The central a/c at the house I rent is older than dirt and runs all the time to try and keep the house 77 so yesterday I bought an energy efficient window unit and put it in my bedroom. I already have a comfortable chair, TV, DVD player and Wii back there so I was all set. I set the central on 80 and the window unit on 73 and it worked perfectly and was nice and cool.

[Charlie40]

We keep ours set at 67 all the time and it is still warm in parts of the house.

[RadicalModerate]

Also OG&E did declare their critical alert from 4 to 7pm today.

Sounds like a sinister plot to get people out of their houses and into locally-owned (not national chain) restaurants. For dinner.

[SSEiYah]

My house went from 68* at 2pm to 92* at 7pm. It would be nice if my house did not have single pane windows and insulation in the walls would be a plus too.

[stick47]

Our May bill was $68. This is a 2011 built 2200 sf home. The main CH&A is a 5 ton 15 seer heat pump and my workshop has a split mini system that's a 1 ton 20 seer. The hot water heater (total electric here) is a GE 50 gal heat pump style w/a an annual electrical cost of > $200 vs < $500 for a regular electric water heater. Bottom line, the heating and cooling bills in our new home are less expensive than they were in the old home which was less than half this large. We thought about building an ICF home to maximize energy savings but since we'll likely be downsizing into a condo in 5-7 yrs I doubt the extra expense would have paid for itself in that length of time.

[SoonerDave]

I simply view anything marketed so aggressively with a healthy dose of skepticism. OGE wants to make a profit, but they peddle something like "SmartHours" because its going to save money - which, logic would initially suggest, would decrease their revenues. Obviously, however, that's not what they know the end-result to be. They wouldn't be pushing this if they didn't know that, ultimately, they would make more money by doing so.

I've not jumped on this bandwagon. I'll watch my bill, but with both kids and my wife home from school all/most of the summer, the notion of letting the heat ramp up and then mass-cooling later until 2pm or whatever isn't really practical right now. Like I said, I view anything publicized this hard with a great deal of skepticism. I have this sneaking suspicion that the last thing OG&E wants to promote is in my best interests or saving me any money.

[onthestrip]

I'm somewhat of a skeptic too soonerdave but I read that part of the reason oge wants people to cut back on usage is that they don't want to have to build a new power plant before 2020.