Electricity Costs in Massachusetts/New England

[tliving]

Tesla drivers in other parts have the country; specifically California, have a more advanced super charger network and generally better climates for maximizing range per charge. I've found quite a bit of information on electricity costs for these drivers but not much information from New England drivers.

Does anyone keep detailed stats on how much the Model S has increased their electricity costs? If you could include the miles you typically drive and your cost per kwh that would be extremely helpful to my research. I think my rate is somewhere around $.21/kwh, $.13 delivery/$.08 supplier. I anticipate that electricity will cost me about 40% of what gasoline costs me on a monthly basis.

I looked at the costs between gas and electric when I compared buying a new version of what I already had (Acura MDX) vs a Tesla. Here's the analysis:

Cost Justification a tie? | Tesla Living

The high electric rates in MA don't help things. Does Solarcity have a presence here? Anyone have any details?

 

[pbleic]

If you use Nstar in MA they have a time based rate that is 4 cents per kWh nights and weekends!! I pay 18 cents. Couldn't believe it. Check it out at the bottom of the rates page. Transmission and distribution and all the extras.
NSTAR: Summary of Rates

 

[mitch672]

If you use Nstar in MA they have a time based rate that is 4 cents per kWh nights and weekends!! I pay 18 cents. Couldn't believe it. Check it out at the bottom of the rates page. Transmission and distribution and all the extras.
NSTAR: Summary of Rates

Nstar does not serve all of MA, for example, my town is not on that list... We have National Grid down here. my rate is about .15/KwH when you average in Transmission, and all of the other costs. You can only get Time of Use if you use over 2,500 KwH per month on National Grid.

 

[beck.christopher]

I have Nstar and when I called them recently to make the switch they said I was unable as the time of use rate was only available during a specific period. Maybe i got a less than knowledgeable rep. I am going to have to try again later today.

 

[pbleic]

I have Nstar and when I called them recently to make the switch they said I was unable as the time of use rate was only available during a specific period. Maybe i got a less than knowledgeable rep. I am going to have to try again later today.

Just need to send a letter and make a one year commitment. No minimum use. Rate is different winter and summer but night rates are both 4 cents. I am getting separate service in my garage which makes it really easy.

NStar rep was the one who told me about it.

 

[Robert.Boston]

Just need to send a letter and make a one year commitment. No minimum use. Rate is different winter and summer but night rates are both 4 cents. I am getting separate service in my garage which makes it really easy.

NStar rep was the one who told me about it.

Remember to compare apples to apples. The 4-cent rate is the wires charge. The energy charge does not have a TOU component, nor have I found any competitive retailer who offers residential TOU in the NStar service area. The 18-cent rate you're comparing it to is the wires + energy​. Energy rates is about 8.5cents, if I recall correctly.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Remember to compare apples to apples. The 4-cent rate is the wires charge. The energy charge does not have a TOU component, nor have I found any competitive retailer who offers residential TOU in the NStar service area. The 18-cent rate you're comparing it to is the wires + energy​. Energy rates is about 8.5cents, if I recall correctly.

Here in CMP's area in Maine there's a TOU supply option that's in its 2nd year. It'll get evilly high this winter (I'll be opting back out during October ).
CMP also has separate optional TOU distribution plans, but the monthly fee mean you really have to be a big off-peak user to even get the admin fee back. Since I have the TOU supply option I already have the TOU meter, but I doubt they'll waive the fee.

I get our Volt charging in the garage (which has a separate service) I might check out the TOU distribution again to see whether it's worth it.

 

[pbleic]

Remember to compare apples to apples. The 4-cent rate is the wires charge. The energy charge does not have a TOU component, nor have I found any competitive retailer who offers residential TOU in the NStar service area. The 18-cent rate you're comparing it to is the wires + energy​. Energy rates is about 8.5cents, if I recall correctly.

Actually no. It is the total charge - including all components. Daytime rates are winter 14 cents and summer 22 cents. But evening is 4 cents. Check out the link I gave and add all the components up.

 

[Robert.Boston]

I think you're misreading the tariff. Note this important paragraph:

In addition to the Delivery Service Charges, to calculate your total bill you will also need to include the Supplier Services charge from your bill (Basic Service or a third-party competitive power supplier).

When you follow the link to Basic Service, it says you have to add $0.09333/kWh for electricity (or a shaped charge if you have monthly-varying rates). So under the Rate R-4 (Optional Time of Use), you'd pay offpeak:

$0.03668 distribution off-peak
$0.00000 transmission off-peak
($0.00036) transition off-peak
$0.0025 energy conservation
$0.0050 renewable energy
$0.09333 Basic Service energy

Total:
$0.13715/kWh

 

[pbleic]

I think you're misreading the tariff. Note this important paragraph:

When you follow the link to Basic Service, it says you have to add $0.09333/kWh for electricity (or a shaped charge if you have monthly-varying rates). So under the Rate R-4 (Optional Time of Use), you'd pay offpeak:

$0.03668 distribution off-peak
$0.00000 transmission off-peak
($0.00036) transition off-peak
$0.0025 energy conservation
$0.0050 renewable energy
$0.09333 Basic Service energy

Total:
$0.13715/kWh

Oh darn. You are right. Wishful thinking. Oh well with separate metering at least I save a little.

 

[PeterK]

Oh darn. You are right. Wishful thinking. Oh well with separate metering at least I save a little.

I took a quick look. The customer charge (fixed monthly amount) was around $10 vs $4 which reduced the delivery savings benefits. On a recent relatively high use month on my separate meter (522 kWh) I would save about $10-11 on a $93 bill. But if I consumed all 522 kWh at peak rate it would come to just over $160.

Anyway it's less of a bargain than I had hoped, on the other hand the peak times are very limited - weekdays 9am to 6pm in summer and 4pm to 9pm in winter.

 

[geucey]

pbleic, you forgot to add the generation charges to your $0.04/kwh distribution rate. Your off-peak rate is more like $0.13/kwh.

If you use Nstar in MA they have a time based rate that is 4 cents per kWh nights and weekends!! I pay 18 cents. Couldn't believe it. Check it out at the bottom of the rates page. Transmission and distribution and all the extras.
NSTAR: Summary of Rates

 

[pbleic]

pbleic, you forgot to add the generation charges to your $0.04/kwh distribution rate. Your off-peak rate is more like $0.13/kwh.

Yes, of course. I did switch to this for my garage only. It is a great rate. I don't use power in the garage on peak except for minor garage openings, etc.

 

[Robert.Boston]

Yes, of course. I did switch to this for my garage only. It is a great rate. I don't use power in the garage on peak except for minor garage openings, etc.

Wow, they let you separately meter your garage? Sweet.

 

[pbleic]

Wow, they let you separately meter your garage? Sweet.

My garage is detached, and the electric line actually runs behind it, so it was a no brainer. It costs me $10/mos. meter charge. I really had no choice because of the distance/asphalt from the house to the garage.

 

[ArtInCT]

Here in Southern Connecticut, if I divide my total electric bill by the KWh consumed including all taxes, etc... the cost to me for a single KWh is .241 cents, just shy of a quarter.

 

[3mp_kwh]

The bills are landing. NSTAR emailed me my first monthly electric bill, ever, that was over $500!

Jan / Feb, time of use, base variable rate plan
$.24/kwh off-peak
$.33/kwh peak

I was over 3:1 off-peak, to peak use. The variable plan has the sting in it, because of the $.20/kwh generation charge.

I'm sure there are lots of people out there who can beat my "low" score.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

CMP's Standard Offer price for 3/1/2015 to 12/31/2015 has been announced:
Residential supply rate will be $0.065441/kWh, down from about $0.075/kWh last year.
While that seems great, it seems that they're changing the contract to be calendar year and so the new rate excludes the more expensive months of January and February. So they may have deferred a jump until 2016. Maine does have the advantage of some cheaper sources like hydro. I also don't know whether they "dirtied" the mix to get the rate down.

Flat Delivery charge is $0.063264/kWh
TOU Delivery charges are $0.10270/kWh peak, $0.045318/kWh off-peak.

I have TOU delivery, so my marginal charging cost for my Volt will be $0.108582/kWh. TOU delivery costs an extra $2.513/mo, so the cost benefit is marginal. Based on flat pricing it'd be $0.128701/kWh.

Maine's electricity sales tax rate is 5.5% on any use over 750kWh/mo, which affects us during some months because of adding the Volt.

If the low rate holds, I'll definitely be looking into getting an air-source heat pump when we modify our heating.

 

[tliving]

National Grid did a huge rate hike this winter:

"Starting in November, a typical residential customer will see an electric bill that is 37 percent higher than last winter for the same amount of electricity used"

Source: National Grid - News

Below is my actual costs over the last few years. Im at $0.241/kWh right now...

Cant wait for my SolarCity install to come online. For some reason National Grid is dragging their heels on the inspection...

 

[HiTech]

Solar definitely helps during most of the year, but production does drop significantly during the winter months... exactly when the NGrid rates jump up so much!
I will have enough solar panels to over-produce during some months in summer, but the winter months billing will be very heavy!
Therefore, I have decided to join one of these energy companies that will lock in my rate for 12 months at around $0.11/kwh. This should hopefully give me plenty of a discount (about 5-6 cents lower than NGrid) during winter months, that the little bit of energy I need during summer is easily offset.