Managing your power bill on a demand or time of use tariff

• If you are on a demand based tariff, what time of day do those demand charges apply? Most retailers apply their peak demand charges during the evening - typically 4pm to 9pm - but it's important to confirm how your tariff works as some retailers apply their demand charges on an ‘anytime’ basis, that is, the single highest half hour demand during the whole billing period.
• If you are on a time of use energy tariff, what are the tariff rates for consumption, and how much do they vary throughout the day?
• Can you choose between a demand or a time of use tariff? If so, ask your electricity retailer if they can advise you, based on your previous consumption, which one suits your household the best (note that if you have recently changed retailers, or moved into a new premises, your retailer may have limited historical energy consumption information and you may need to review your first few bills to understand your electricity consumption).
• Remember - if you make changes to how you consume electricity, this could alter which tariff is best for your household.

• Ask your electricity retailer if they can tell you when your household’s peak demand periods typically occur, and how high that is. For most people, peak demand occurs during the evening between 4pm and 9pm
• If you don’t have a smart meter, it’s unlikely that your retailer will be able to provide you with historical electricity use information, and you may have to wait a few months after your digital meter has been installed to get access to this information - your power bills should also display what your energy consumption (kWh) and demand (kW) was for each billing period (usually monthly), if you are on a demand based tariff.
• As a general guide, the average demand from a residential premise, with suitable metering, in south-east Queensland during the peak period of 4pm to 9pm, is around 4.16 kW. In regional Queensland, the average demand during the peak period is 3.54kW. These are average figures and do not take into account whether a household is already on demand or time use retail tariff. Your house may differ significantly.
• You can request a report that will display up to 2 years' worth of meter data to see your historical electrical consumption (kWh) and electricity demand (kW) if you have a smart meter.

• What appliances are being used that might be contributing to peak electricity usage in your household, that is, those appliances running at or around the same time in the tariff's peak charging periods?
• For example, you might be using your electric stove or oven, TV, computers, washing machine, air conditioners and a pool pump all at the same time when you come home from work
• Consider if you can move the use of some large appliances to off-peak times to avoid peak charges altogether – this is particularly relevant if you are on a time of use tariff. For example, can you run your dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, pool pumps, ironing outside of the peak period?
• Remember - on a demand-based tariff, demand is measured in 30 minute intervals, therefore if you can, staggering large appliance usage till the next interval commences (on the hour or half hour) can be an option to reduce your demand.

• You might consider moving them to an economy tariff, as electricity used on these tariffs does not contribute to demand or time use charges on your primary tariff
• This is even the case when you are using these appliances during the peak demand charging period.
• Read about hot water on an economy tariff.

You may be more suited to a time of use energy tariff if...

• You are sometimes out in the evenings and or generally have low electricity consumption during around 4-9pm.
• You use cooking appliances that either run on gas or consume less electricity than older stoves or large ovens (e.g., air fryers, induction cooktops, slow cookers) with short cooking times.
• You do not typically use appliances that consume large amount of energy for a short period or longer (ie up to 30 mins), during the evening peak.

You may be more suited to a demand tariff if...

• You have appliances that have a high power demand and that need to run for longer periods (like a large hot water system, electric vehicle charger), which you can program to not operate during the evening peak (consumption charges on demand tariffs are typically cheaper than on time of use energy tariffs).
• Appliances you need to operate during the evening peak are either not high power usage appliances, OR
• Appliances you need to operate during the evening peak, that use higher amounts of electricity, are able to be staggered across different 30 minute periods.

The choice between a time of use energy tariff and a demand tariff depends on your specific energy consumption patterns, the types of appliances you use, and your ability to shift high-energy usage outside of the peak period. Both tariffs offer potential bill savings when you can utilise high-energy appliances during non-peak times.