Basic Price Plan for SRP Residential Electric CustomersSRP offers flexible price plan options to help you save money.

The electric vehicle off-peak hours were reported in a previous version of the article.

July and August bring the highest electric bills of the year, so if your Salt River Project electric bill hasn't caught your attention in a while, it will soon.

It's not easy to change rate plans for a household that isn't on the cheapest plan.We're here to help.Customers who want to save a bit have more time to do that before summer.

The director of corporate pricing said customers react more than they get out in front of it.We want them to get out in front of it.It takes a high bill to get your attention.

SRP officials think more than half of their customers are not on the cheapest plan.

The difference between one plan and another might be small, officials said, and saving some money might require moving to a more complex plan, which some customers are not comfortable with.

Scott Harelson said that customers may choose the convenience of not having to manage time of use if the savings is less than $1 a month.A slightly more expensive price plan is the best for many.

If the company's analysis shows customers would save on an alternative plan, SRP will push them to switch to a more economical plan.Monthly bills usually include those notes.

If you've ever wondered if it's worth it to switch plans, we're here to help explain benefits and drawbacks to different plans and that they are not all suited to all lifestyles.

A guide to your rate decisions can be found on azcentral.com.

A $20 monthly service charge is included in most SRP plans.They charge per kilowatt-hour of electricity used.The way cars use gas is by using kilowatt hours of electricity.

SRP has an offer to try one of the plans for 90 days.If a customer pays more than they save, they can switch back to the Basic plan.

The company will credit the difference between the basic rate and the new rate if a customer requests a change.

Customers can't return to a rate plan for a year after changing plans.

John Tucker is the director of forecasting, resource planning and development.It's to manage customers in different seasons of the year.

In the winter, SRP charges the least.In the summer months of May, June, September and October, rates are higher than in the winter months.

If you use the same amount of electricity at the exact same times in June and July, you might see your bill increase noticeably.Customers use more electricity in warmer months for air conditioning, which leads to higher bills.

SRP has Budget Billing where customers pay the average of their bills.They pay less than they would in the summer and winter, but they don't have to worry about their bills going up or down.

The Basic plan has an "integrating block" where the more electricity is used, the higher the energy costs.

Inclining blocks can be used to keep prices reasonable for low-income customers.

In July and August the Basic plan charges 11.6 cents per kilowatt hour for the first 2,000 kilowatt hours of electricity and 12.7 cents for anything over that amount.

In Arizona, time-of-use rates are more popular than other parts of the country, and SRP offers a variety of plans with different on- and off-peak hours.

It's called EZ-3.Either way, customers can face higher prices from 3-6 p.m.Some customers are still on the 2-5 p.m. plan, but it's no longer an option.

In July and August, when the on-peak price is 34.4 cents per kilowatt hour, customers face the biggest differential.

The Time of Use plan has lower on-peak rates but longer hours.The plan charges higher rates during peak hours in the summer and winter.

The Time of Use plan charges 7.3 cents per kilowatt hour for off-peak summer hours and 24.1% for on peak hours during July and August.

Customers need to know where they use the most electricity to save money.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, air-conditioning and heating are the biggest energy uses in the US.

The Energy Department says that water heating, lighting and refrigeration make up 27% of household energy use.Natural-gas customers in Arizona pay less than electric customers for this category.

The laptops, TVs, washers, dryers, video games, and other devices in a home make up only 21% of energy use.

It's not going to break the bank if you watch television during on-peak hours.It's not running a ceiling fan or charging your phone.

Air conditioning is important.Most customers who are on a time-of-use plan simply limit the time their air-conditioning runs during peak hours by turning up the thermostat, though there are those who choose to cool the house as much as possible before the peak.

Customers on the Time of Use plan only have to cooling off for three hours, which is more convenient than the so-called pre-cooling method.Customers with a schedule that keeps them out of the house during those hours have an advantage.

If you are on the Time of Use plan, you can run an air-conditioner for four hours a day during off-peak hours in July, when it costs 7.3 cents per kilowatt hour.

Air-conditioners don't usually run for four hours straight, so let's say it cycles on and off for 4 hours during off-peak hours.

Your actual usage will include additional cooling on the weekends and probably a mix of on- and off-peak usage.This example shows how shifting larger appliances like air-conditioners off peak can add up to big savings for those who can do it.

July will have 23 weekdays when on-peak hours are in effect.There are 92 hours of off-peak air-conditioning on that plan.

People who can't adjust their energy usage will pay a penalty.

This July, when the price is 24.1 cents per kilowatt hour, it will cost you about $89 if you run the same air-conditioner for four hours a day.

The difference between running air conditioning four hours a day off peak and on peak is about $65 a month.

The monthly service fee and kilowatt-hour fees are included in the demand fee, which is a third charge on bills.

What is a demand fee?Pick the half-hour on a weekday when your home uses the most electricity to set your demand fee.The higher the demand fee, the more electricity is used.

The single 30-minute period out of the 20-some weekdays in the month is used to calculate your demand fee.The demand fee is not related to how much electricity is used during off-peak hours.

Residential customers rarely are charged such fees, though they are common for businesses.

The tool is useful for figuring out how much demand a particular appliance causes, but remember, just because an electric stove range draws 1.5 kilowatts doesn't mean it will add that to the demand fee unless it runs for a full 30 minutes.

The Residential Demand Price Plan Pilot is an experiment.The more appliances a customer uses during peak hours, the more they will pay for each additional device they turn on.

The benefit of the plan is that it never charges more than 6.2 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity, which is less than some other plans.