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Time of Day summer rate in effect May 23

April 30, 2012

Summer hours for those members on the Time of Day rate will go into effect May 23. Members on the TOD rate include those who have had a digital meter with the new "Turtle" device installed AND have received a letter, including a magnet, from LMRE notifying them of the conversion to the TOD rate.

The cooperative instituted the TOD rate in October 2010 for residential consumers in conjunction with the full deployment of new advanced digital meters. The cooperative expects it will take another two to three years before all residential consumers are converted to the new meters.

Summer on-peak hours are from 2 to 10 p.m. weekdays. All weekend and summer holidays including Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day are considered off-peak. The summer TOD rate schedule will apply from May 23 to Sept. 22.

Through the three- to four-year meter conversion process, the cooperative designed a TOD rate to be "revenue neutral" since some members will be on the standard rate while others are on the new TOD rate. During the conversion period, there will be a 1-cent difference between on-peak and off-peak hours. On average, residential members use about 70 percent of their power during off-peak hours.

After the meter installation period, the different between the rates for off-peak and on-peak kWhs will gradually increase to between 3- to 4-cents. Once the new Turtle meters are installed, members will no longer have to read their meter and submit monthly meter readings. Each day, the Turtle meters send electric consumption data over the electric lines to an office computer. The new meters improve billing accuracy, monitor voltage, system blinks and help identify power quality issues.

Before converting to the new rate, members will be notified by the cooperative via letter approximately two weeks before the rate is implemented. Members are currently being switched over by substation each month. Nearly 8,600 LMRE members being served by the cooperative have been converted to the TOD rate as of March.

Each month, the power bill from LMRE's supplier, Buckeye Power, is calculated by the five highest peak hours for the month. The cooperative has no way of knowing exactly when those peak hours will occur each month. However, the cooperative has plenty of data to show which hours those peaks will likely occur. The on-peak versus off-peak hours listed in the TOD rate schedule is based upon this data.

Summer Hours

May 23 to September 22

On-Peak Hours

2 - 10 p.m. Monday - Friday

Off-Peak Hours

All day Saturdays and Sundays

Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day

All other hours not listed above.