BRISTOL, Tenn. – Members of the Bristol Tennessee Essential Services Board expressed support Wednesday for a Tennessee Valley Authority proposal to bill some customers based on electricity use during specific peak- and off-peak periods.
Board members said they are open to making the option available for 10,000 to 11,000 power customers – those who have BTES’ fiber services – if the TVA proposal takes effect as early as October.
In all, BTES has some 33,000 power customers. Currently, most BTES customers are billed for their electric use based on a flat rate.
“We can see the need for it,” BTES CEO Mike Browder said Wednesday. “It would really help customers realize when and how they use power, and maybe see ways to conserve and save. And we’d get an even better sense of when and how our power is used.”
Board Chairman Pat Hickie suggested that the on-peak, off-peak system could help customers be more energy-conscious – particularly if BTES would use its public-access cable TV channel to offer tips on cheaper times to use power.
“This [could be] a brave new world for us,” Hickie said.
The TVA proposal would group hours into peak and off-peak based on the time of day – and month of the year.
During the summer months, June, July, August and September, the peak hours for electric use would be 2-9 p.m. – with the remaining classified as off-peak.
During the winter months, December, January, February and March, the peak hours would be 6-11 a.m., with the rest set as off-peak.
The TVA proposal would view the remaining months of April, May, October and November as completely off-peak periods.
Browder suggested a scenario in which during the summer months, a homeowner might eat dinner at 6 p.m. and finish at 7 p.m. Instead of immediately turning on the dishwasher after the meal, Browder said, the homeowner would wait until midnight, during the cheaper period.
“That’s just one example and one little thing,” Browder said. “But it could make a difference for a customer. And any opportunity we [have] to get people thinking about steps like this, that’s what we should do.”
The TVA proposal is still in the discussion stage, and must first be approved by its board before individual power providers like BTES could adopt it.
In other board activity Wednesday, Browder said that in December, the utility dealt with more power outages than it usually handles in an entire year.
Due to three storms, Dec. 9, Dec. 18 and Christmas Day, there were 48,000 total hours when BTES customers experienced power outages.
In a typical year, BTES has 33,000 total hours of customer power outages – if that much, Browder said.
“It was incredible, what we were dealing with last month,” Browder said. “But our workers did a great job, working long hours and getting service quickly restored to our customers.
rbrown@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2512
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