Time-of-Day (5-8 p.m.) Rate

Manage your electricity use

You can save on your SMUD bill by reducing your electricity use between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Consider doing household chores like laundry or running your dishwasher before 5 p.m. or after 8 p.m. on weekdays to take advantage of the low off-peak rates. Or schedule chores for any time on weekends and holidays when all hours are at the low off-peak price.

View Time-of-Day rates and time periods

Are you an electric vehicle owner? Learn how you can get a discount on your electric bill.

Energy savings tips

Shifting your appliance use to low-cost off-peak hours can help lower your electric bill.

TOD savings tip

Set the thermostat to 68° and lower it to 55° at night or when no one's home. For every 2° that you lower your thermostat during the winter, you save about 10% on the operating cost of your heater.

Get more savings tips

Easy, no-cost tips

Start or program your dishwasher, washing machine or clothes dryer to run and finish before 5 p.m. or start after 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. All hours on weekends and holidays are at the lowest off-peak rate.
Wash full loads of laundry whenever possible and switch your temperature setting from hot to warm to cut energy use in half for a single load. Using the cold cycle can reduce energy use even more. About 90% of the energy consumed for washing clothes is used to heat the water.
Try to avoid using multiple appliances like your dishwasher, air conditioner and washer and dryer at the same time between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. during the week, when rates are highest.
Use small appliances to cook. Microwaves, toaster ovens and pressure cookers use about 66% less energy than a conventional oven.
Since up to 20% of heating and cooling inside a typical home is lost through the windows, check the weather stripping and caulking around doors and windows.
Gaming systems are fun but also use a lot of energy. Give your system a rest from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Activate power saving settings and turn off controllers when not in use. Learn more at energystar.gov.

KILL-A-WATT METER | REBATES | SMUD ENERGY STORE

Tools

Cost Estimator

Our Time-of-Day Cost Estimator helps you compare the cost of using common household items at different time periods throughout the day and on different seasonal rates (summer and non-summer).

Try the estimator

Energy Efficiency Home

Explore our Energy Efficiency Home room by room to discover ways you can save. For example, make a bigger impact on your savings by changing the thermostat 2 degrees to save 5-10% on heating and cooling costs.

Get some tips

Resources

Rate details

Learn more about the different time periods and prices for Time-of-Day.

FAQs

You've got questions, we've got answers. Read through some common questions.

Budget Billing

Get a set monthly bill for 12 months at a time. Manage your usage, especially in the summer.

Bill alerts

Sign up for text and email alerts to know how the Time-of-Day Rate is impacting your bill.

Discounts

To help lower your bill, we offer several discounts to eligible customers.

Check your usage

Find out how much energy you use during Peak times and get helpful tips with My Energy Tools.

VIEW ENERGY SAVINGS TIPS

Customer success stories

Due to our customers' energy saving efforts, Time-of-Day reduced the carbon impact by approximately 12,800 tonnes per year, which is equal to one of the three benefits shown in the graphic to the right.

Paul said the switch to Time-of-Day has not been difficult for his family.

"It's amazing how much just minor changes can make a big difference."

See how Paul's family made the switch.

Brian made small changes in his energy usage and has seen great results on the Time-of-Day Rate.

"I've been a TOD customer for about 2 years now. I noticed my bill has actually gone down on the rate."

Watch Brian's story to see how he made TOD work for his lifestyle.