Concord utility shifts residential customers to time-of-day rates to reduce peak costs, promote equity

Jason Bulger, Director of the Concord Municipal Light Plant, said the utility transitioned residential customers to time-of-day electricity rates beginning in April 2026, framing the change as an effort to make pricing fairer, reduce systemwide peak costs and support Concord’s climate action goals.

Bulger said equity was the Light Board’s primary driver for the change and described the move as the result of years of analysis and community dialogue. “Time of day rates fix this by ensuring that the price of electricity more accurately reflects the actual cost of providing it,” he said, adding that the redesign responds to goals set by multiple town committees and the climate action plan.

The utility’s explanation focuses on how peak demand increases costs for all customers. Bulger said when the town hits high demand peaks the utility faces higher transmission and capacity ‘reservation’ fees, and that lowering those peaks reduces costs for everyone while also decreasing reliance on the region’s most carbon-intensive power plants.

Bulger outlined the rate structure and daily windows: the weekday peak is 3–7 p.m.; the super off-peak window is 1–5 a.m. every day; other hours fall into off-peak categories with seasonal ‘‘shoulder’’ distinctions to reflect changing demand. He said phase one of the rollout launched in April 2026 and is designed to be revenue-neutral ‘‘assuming the same usage’’ as the prior year. The Light Board has planned a phase two rollout expected in 2027 that Bulger said will likely increase peak prices and lower off-peak prices to further encourage load shifting.

On customer impacts, Bulger said the utility expects the average household to use about 12–14% of its energy during the peak window; households whose usage patterns match the town average should see bills roughly similar to the old structure. He offered practical suggestions for customers who want to lower bills, including using an electric vehicle’s charging scheduler, programmable water heaters, or smart appliances to shift heavy energy tasks into off-peak and super off-peak hours.

Bulger thanked plant staff, the Light Board and residents for feedback and pointed listeners to concordma.gov/tod for the full rate schedule, frequently asked questions and interactive calculators designed to show customers how timing changes could affect monthly bills. He said the phased approach aims to give customers time to adapt and that future rate steps will depend on revenue requirements for the plant.

Next steps: staff and the Light Board will monitor usage patterns under phase one, provide customer tools and outreach, and pursue the planned phase two adjustments in 2027; Bulger emphasized that the initial change is not intended to raise overall utility revenue but to change how costs are allocated across time.