By GREGORY ZELLER //
A sliding scale of new Long Island Power Authority electricity rates will help customers save money – but don’t count on lower utility bills just yet.
The new, optional Time-of-Day and Super Off-Peak rates – and the new standard Flat Rate – won’t kick in until early 2024, with some customers not getting in on the fun until 2025.
They may take some time to implement, but the new rates are already being hailed as a modernization marvel – not only providing customer savings throughout Long Island and the Rockaways, but streamlining “our region’s transition to clean, affordable energy,” according to a LIPA statement.
Long Island Power Authority Chief Executive Officer Thomas Falcone trumpeted “an important rate-modernization reform” that will provide long-term economic and ecological benefits throughout the region.
“Time-of-Day Rates … will help lower customer bills and advance clean energy,” Falcone said Wednesday, when the LIPA Board of Trustees voted to make the new rate plans official.
“Once implemented in 2024, this initiative will save 80 percent of customers money even before changes to how or when they use electricity,” Falcone added. “By moving to Time-of-Day Rates, we can reduce carbon emissions and take the burden off the electric grid during the highest times of demand.”
Customers selecting the Time-of-Day Rate will pay different rates based on when they use their electricity – higher during “peak” hours (3-7 p.m. weekdays), lower during “off-peak” hours (other weekday hours, weekends and holidays).
The Super Off-Peak Rate will provide further discounts during “super off-peak” hours (10 p.m.-6 a.m.).
Customers will be able to stay with a Flat Rate if they so choose, but those who go with one of the new programs will be eligible for a 12-month “Bill Protection Guarantee” that provides account credits if the Flat Rate proves cheaper than the new plans.
By LIPA’s calculations, 88 percent of annual hours are discounted off-peak hours, making the new rate structure – which was developed by LIPA in collaboration with customers and other stakeholders – an automatic savings for regional ratepayers.
Several state agencies, including the New York State Department of Public Service and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, also collaborated on the new rate structures, which leverage best practices in effect at other U.S. utilities – including providers that have offered time-of-use programs for years.
Albany “has encouraged the development of Time-of-Day Rates for decades,” according to DPS Chief Executive Officer Rory Christian, who noted the Department of Public Service “strongly supports LIPA’s proposal to build a successful rate framework on Long Island.”
“The department stands ready and willing to take the important lessons from other utilities around the country and partner with LIPA in making Time-of-Day Rates successful for LIPA’s customers, in furtherance of the state’s ambitious climate goals,” Christian added.
Service provider PSEG Long Island is expected to immediately commence an extensive customer outreach, with 90-, 60- and 30-day written notices before the switchover to the new rate system. The educational outreach will include information on each plan, rate-optimization tips and details about the Bill Protection Guarantee.
Starting this fall, customers will be able to opt into the Time-of-Day and Super Off-Peak rate programs early – or to opt out of both, in favor of the Flat Rate structure.
The “innovative rate design” is a “model for utilities across the state,” according to NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen Harris, who said LIPA’s bold move makes Long Island the epicenter of a critical socioeconomic shift.
“[The new rate structures] set a standard for shifting energy consumption away from peak demand as part of building the electricity grid of the future,” Harris said in a statement. “Long Islanders have a valuable opportunity to take control of their energy use and make decisions that can both save them money and reduce harmful emissions.”
