Sacramento County residents are about to be hit with an electric shock.
The average electricity bill likely will jump next summer - 16 percent alone in July - under new pricing the Sacramento Municipal Utility District began rolling out this month.
The “time of day” system means higher rates for energy use on weekdays between 5 and 8 p.m. and lower rates at other times. Winter rates overall will be lower than in the summer.
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Residential customers will switch to the new system in groups between now and May. SMUD will alert each group a month in advance.
Here’s a consumer guide to the new system, and some tips on how residential electricity users can deal with it.
New time-of-day rates
SMUD is rolling out a two-season residential time-of-day rate structure with a peak time period from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays year-round. The new time-of-day rate structure for 2018-2019:
Source: SMUD
This story was originally published October 15, 2018 2:00 AM.