What is “Peak Use?”

KEC’s Peak Use Charge is based on the maximum amount of energy that is used during a one-hour interval during our peak hours (6-10 a.m. and 5-9 p.m.).

Imagine you were able to place all the electricity you consume in a day (24 hours) in buckets like water. The amount of water in each bucket represents how much electricity you used each hour.

Over the course of the month, some hourly buckets may have a small amount of water while others are filled quickly during high energy use activities like heating or cooling.

At month’s end, the total volume of energy contained in all of these buckets represents your total electric consumption, measured in kilowatt hours (kWh). Your peak use, on the other hand, is the single fullest orange bucket during our peak hours, measured in kilowatts (kW). That bucket will be used to calculate your peak use charge. For most, there will be no charge for the first 5 kW in the bucket. Anything that’s left will be used to calculate your peak use charge.

R110 and R115 Rate Example

Let’s say your peak use bucket during the month is 7 kW. The first 5 kW are at no cost and the remaining 2 kW are charged at $6 per kW. Your peak use charge for the month would be $12.