For Heartland members who are willing to keep an eye on their electric usage during peak times in the summer, the Peak Savers rate provides more control over your bill than ever before.
- Service availability charge: $41.65
- Energy charge: $0.110896 per kWh
- Peak charge: $5 per kW used during the consumer-member’s monthly peak hour (hour of highest electric usage)
- Peak charge only occurs in June, July, August, and September
- Peak hour will only be calculated on Heartland-declared Peak Days
- Peak hour can only occur between 3 and 8 p.m.
- Peak Days will never occur on weekends or holidays
- Peak charge is only based on ONE HOUR OF USAGE for the entire month
- For each summer month, the peak charge of $5 per kW will be calculated by examining the member’s hourly usage between 3 and 8 p.m. on Peak Days.
- Whichever one-hour increment has the highest usage will be used to calculate the peak charge.
- For example, if a consumer-member’s hour of highest usage is 10 kW from 4 to 5 p.m. on July 29, their peak charge for July would be $50 (10 kW × $5).
- Members can save money on their bills by spreading out their usage between 3 and 8 p.m. on Peak Days and avoiding using too many appliances at the same time.
For SmartHub Users
- Consumer-members on the Peak Savers rate who are enrolled in our free SmartHub service will receive an email or text notification the afternoon before a forecasted Peak Day advising them that they can save money on their bills by reducing usage from 3 to 8 p.m. the next day
- Consumer-members will receive email notifications by default, but will need to opt into text notifications through SmartHub if desired
For Consumer-Members Not Enrolled in SmartHub
- If you are not enrolled in SmartHub and either cannot enroll or do not wish to do so, but still want to receive text notifications of Peak Days, you can text the word "peak" to (833) 626-2631
- If you do not have a phone capable of sending or receiving text messages, you can call our office at (800) 835-9586 to find out whether a Peak Day has been declared
- Alternatively, you can simply control your usage from 3 to 8 p.m. on any summer weekday where temperatures are expected to reach 90 degrees or higher
The key to keeping your peak charge as low as possible is spreading out your usage on Peak Days between 3 and 8 p.m. so you're not drawing a lot of kW at once. See below for some practical tips for lowering usage:
- Cook dinner using a grill or a countertop appliance such as an air fryer, instant pot, or crock pot.
- Load the electric clothes dryer, but wait to run it until after 8 p.m.
- Load the dishwasher, but wait to run it until after 8 p.m.
- Pre-cool your home by running your air conditioner until the peak time starts at 3 p.m.
- If you have an electric water heater, avoid using a lot of hot water between 3 and 8 p.m.
- Avoid running your pool pump from 3 to 8 p.m.
- For those with electric vehicles, wait to charge them until after 8 p.m.
For more information, see our Energy Use Basics page.
Add Contacts in SmartHub
All Peak Alert notifications (email and text) run through our SmartHub system. Look below for step-by-step instructions for adding mobile numbers to SmartHub to receive Peak Alert messages.
Add Contacts in SmartHub Video Tutorial
Written Instructions
Step 1
Open the app on your mobile device.
Step 2
Sign in to your account using your email address and password you set up during registration.
Step 3
From the home screen, tap on the "More..." button in the bottom right.
Step 4
Locate and tap on the Settings menu.
Step 5
Locate and tap on the Contact Methods sub-menu.
Step 6
Tap the Email icon and follow the prompts, or if adding a phone contact, tap Phone and see the following steps.
Step 7
Enter the desired phone number, tap the slider labeled ‘Receive Text Messages,’ and tap ‘Continue.’
Step 8
Review the text message terms and conditions and tap Accept to continue.
Step 9
The added phone number will receive a verification code via text message. Enter the code, tap ‘Verify,’ and you’re set!
Manage Notifications Video Tutorial
Written Instructions
Step 1
Open the app on your mobile device.
Step 2
Sign in to your account using your email address and password you set up during registration.
Step 3
From the home screen, tap on the "More..." button in the bottom right.
Step 4
Locate and tap on the Settings menu.
Step 5
Locate and tap on the "Manage Notifications" sub-menu.
Step 6
Choose between Billing, Miscellaneous, On Demand, or Service. (Peak Day notifications are within the On Demand section).
Step 7
For each option you want to get notifications for, toggle the option for either Text Message or E-Mail.
Step 8
Congratulations! You have just set up notifications on your account.
Manage Notifications in SmartHub Video Tutorial
Written Instructions
Step 1
Sign in to your account using your email address and password you set up during registration.
Step 2
On the SmartHub home screen click on the 'Settings' menu on the left and then click on the 'Contact Methods' sub-menu.
Step 3
For this example, click the ‘Add Phone’ button.
Step 4
Type your phone number in and set the rules for that particular phone number, indicating whether you want to receive text and/or voice messages. Then click the 'Save' button.
Step 5
Enter the Verification Code that was texted to your phone and click the 'Save' button.
Step 6
The new phone number is now listed in the Verified Contacts section. You can always come back to edit or delete this contact.
Step 7
On the SmartHub home screen click on the 'Settings' menu on the left and then click on the 'Manage Notifications' sub-menu.
Step 8
For this example, click on the 'Billing' category.
Step 9
For each category, click the dropdown menu in the 'Text Message', 'Email' and 'Voice Message' columns and select the types of notifications you wish to receive.
If you have any questions or concerns, please email us or call our office at (800) 835-9586.