Electric company making change that could save you money or raise your bill

HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) – Starting in the fall, Horry Electric Cooperative is adjusting its rates changing how members will be billed.

There will now be three-hour windows each day where your electricity will cost more.

Those peak hours are in the summertime from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and in the winter from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.

During the other 21 hours of the day, your electricity will cost half of what you are currently paying.

For those peak hours, Horry Electric will charge you $12 per kilowatt for your single highest hour of usage during your billing period.

For example, if your highest usage is 5kw during the month, that number will be multiplied by 12, coming out to $60.

Horry Electric spokesperson Jennifer Cummings said you can actually save money by timing your usage wisely.

“We’re not saying you can’t use electricity,” Cummings said. “Just don’t do everything at the same time. Don’t have your air conditioning running and the kids in the shower at 5 p.m. during summer peak hours and throwing a load of clothes in. If you can wait to shower and toss a load of clothes in if you can do that after 6 p.m., that helps reduce your peak.”

Customer Steven Scuderi said with the new rates, his bill would increase by 30 percent, so he’s making big changes to save money.

“We’ve already programmed our thermostat,” Scuderi said. “We’ve decided we’re not gonna run the stove if we can or the dishwasher during those peak hours, so our electric water heater doesn’t kick on.”

These new changes will begin starting in September but won’t start showing up until your October bill.

For more information on the restructured rates, click here.

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