Xcel Energy's new Time of Use rate plan is rolling out across its Minnesota service area, offering rock-bottom overnight power to customers willing to run major appliances while they sleep, while sharply hiking prices during the busy evening hours for those who cannot. The optional plan joins Xcel's existing flat and Time-of-Day options and will hit bills differently depending on when families run air conditioning, dryers and EV chargers. For many households, the core question is simple: can you move enough usage out of those evening hours to make the numbers work in your favor?
How the new plan works
Xcel describes Time of Use as a three-tier structure that charges different prices depending on the hour and gradually enrolls customers as smart meters come online, with notification and opt-out rules laid out in the company's customer guide, according to Xcel Energy. The guide says customers will receive notices 30 and 15 days before enrollment and can opt out with 30 days' notice. Xcel says the design is intended to push demand away from costly peak hours and better match usage with times when wind and solar power are more plentiful.
Pricing snapshot and who wins
The Minnesota Star Tribune reports that the Time of Use option sets a super-off-peak rate of about 7.5¢ per kWh from midnight to 6 a.m., while summer evening peak hours from 6 to 9 p.m. jump to roughly 21¢ per kWh, compared with about 17¢ in winter. All other hours are billed at the flat rate. The default flat rate stays near 13¢ per kWh in summer and 11¢ in winter, so households with big late-evening loads could see higher bills even if overnight power is far cheaper, as detailed by the Minnesota Star Tribune. The tradeoff is aimed at reducing peak demand and boosting the use of renewable energy during off-peak periods.
Real homes, real savings — sometimes
Some households that can shift major uses are already reporting savings. One St. Paul resident told the Star Tribune that his family has leaned on delay-start settings and other scheduling tricks to cut about $1,000 off their bill over six months on a Time-of-Day plan. "Both our clothes washer and our dishwasher have delay start settings," he said, a small habit change that added up because it pushed most loads into cheaper hours.
Why many could still pay more
Consumer advocates warn that the change will create clear winners and losers. Xcel's own modeling shows that average summer bills could rise roughly 17.8% while non-summer bills fall about 10.6%, a split that will land harder on some households than others, according to the Citizens Utility Board. Regulators have pushed utilities to adopt time-varying pricing as a way to cut peak demand and help meet Minnesota's clean-energy goals, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission noted in its newsletter (Minnesota Public Utilities Commission).
How to check whether to switch
Xcel offers online rate-comparison tools and customer dashboards that let households model their bills under each plan so people can see how their routine might affect costs, per Xcel Energy. Customers who are unsure can stay on the flat rate or try Time of Use for a while, and Xcel and regulators say customers are allowed to opt in and out. Anyone thinking about a switch is urged to run the numbers first and take a hard look at how flexible their evening EV charging, cooling and laundry habits really are.
