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Peak Hours: When to Use Less Power

On a time-of-use meter, electricity costs more during the evening peak and less the rest of the day. Knowing your peak hours, and shifting the heavy jobs out of them, lowers the bill without using any less overall.

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Peak Hours, in Short

If your connection has a time-of-use meter, the price of a unit changes with the clock: more during the busy evening peak, less for the roughly twenty off-peak hours. Many ordinary home meters are not time-of-use and charge one rate all day, so the first thing to know is which kind you have.

This guide covers:

What Peak and Off-Peak Hours Are

Peak hours are the busy evening hours when most homes and businesses are using power at the same time. Off-peak is the rest of the day. On a time-of-use meter the same unit of electricity costs more in the peak window and less off-peak.

Two prices for the same unit

On a time-of-use meter, a unit you use during the evening peak is charged at a higher rate than the same unit used off-peak. The meter records peak and off-peak units separately, and your bill prices each one on its own.

Why peak hours cost more

In the evening, lights, air conditioners, irons, and water motors switch on across the city together. That spike in demand forces the power system to run its most expensive plants, and that higher cost is passed on as a higher peak rate.

Off-peak is the cheaper window

The roughly twenty hours outside the evening peak are off-peak and carry the lower rate. So if you can move a heavy job, like washing or ironing, into those hours, the same task costs you less.

Do Peak Hours Apply to You?

Peak and off-peak pricing only matters if you have a time-of-use meter. Many ordinary home meters are not time-of-use, so they charge one rate no matter what hour you use the power.

Who gets a time-of-use meter

Under NEPRA's consumer service rules, time-of-use metering applies to larger connections of 5 kilowatts and above. When a single-phase home's load grows towards 5 kilowatts, the company is meant to fit a time-of-use meter. Most commercial and industrial connections are on time-of-use already.

How to tell if your meter is time-of-use

Look at your bill. A time-of-use connection shows your units split into peak and off-peak, each with its own reading and rate. Under NEPRA's rules the bill must print this peak and off-peak meter snapshot. If your bill shows a single block of units with no peak or off-peak split, your meter is not on time-of-use. Our guide to reading your bill shows where to look.

If your meter is not time-of-use

Then the hour you use power does not change your rate, and what matters instead is your total units and your slab. Using less overall, and staying under the protected level, is what lowers the bill. Our guide to reducing your bill and our guide to slabs cover that.

When Are the Peak Hours?

Peak hours fall in the evening and shift with the season. NEPRA sets them, your company applies them, and they can vary a little from one company to the next. So treat the windows below as the usual pattern, and confirm the exact hours for your connection on your own bill.

Winter, December to February

Peak hours are usually around 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Every other hour of the day is off-peak.

Spring, March to May

Peak hours are usually around 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Every other hour of the day is off-peak.

Summer, June to August

Peak hours are usually around 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM. Every other hour of the day is off-peak.

Autumn, September to November

Peak hours are usually around 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Every other hour of the day is off-peak.

Always check your own bill

These windows are the common pattern, not a fixed rule. NEPRA sets the peak hours and can change them with the season, and the exact times can differ a little between companies. The hours that apply to you are the ones printed on your bill or in your company's latest notice. Off-peak simply means every hour that is not in the peak window, about twenty hours a day.

Reading Peak and Off-Peak on Your Bill

On a time-of-use bill, your usage is split into two lines so you can see exactly how much of your electricity falls in the costly peak window.

Two lines of units

A time-of-use bill lists peak units and off-peak units separately, each multiplied by its own rate. Add the two together for the cost of the electricity itself, before taxes and other charges.

Use it to spot your habits

If your peak units are high next to your off-peak units, a lot of your usage is landing in the evening window. Moving some of that, even one or two heavy appliances, into off-peak hours brings the cost down. Our guide on a high bill covers the other reasons a bill jumps.

How to Save: Shift Heavy Use Off-Peak

You cannot change the rate, but on a time-of-use meter you can change when you run the heavy jobs. Moving them out of the evening peak is the whole game.

Move the heavy appliances

The washing machine, dryer, iron, dishwasher, and water pump are the big movable loads. Run them before the peak window starts or after it ends, rather than during the evening.

Pre-cool, then ease off the AC

The air conditioner is the heaviest load in most homes. Cool the rooms before the peak window begins, then raise the setting a degree or two during peak. The room stays comfortable while the meter records fewer peak units.

Heat water off-peak

An electric geyser or immersion rod draws a lot of power. Heating water outside the peak hours, rather than in the evening, shifts that load to the cheaper rate.

Off-peak does not mean free

Moving usage to off-peak lowers the rate you pay, but using less overall still matters, and the two work together. Our guide to reducing your bill covers the habits that cut your units on any connection.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are peak hours for electricity in Pakistan?
Peak hours are the evening hours when demand is high and a unit of electricity costs more on a time-of-use meter. They are usually around 6 PM to 10 PM, a little earlier in winter and later in summer. NEPRA sets the exact hours and they shift with the season, so check your own bill for the times that apply to you.
What are off-peak hours?
Off-peak hours are all the hours outside the evening peak, about twenty hours a day, and they carry the lower rate. On a time-of-use meter, the same unit used off-peak costs less than one used during peak hours.
Do peak hours apply to every home?
No. Peak and off-peak rates only apply to time-of-use meters, which are used on larger connections of 5 kilowatts and above and on most commercial and industrial connections. Many ordinary home meters charge one rate all day. Check whether your bill splits your units into peak and off-peak to know which you have.
How can I tell if I have a time-of-use meter?
Look at your bill. A time-of-use connection shows peak units and off-peak units separately, each with its own rate. If your bill shows a single block of units with no peak or off-peak split, your meter is not on time-of-use.
How do I save money during peak hours?
Shift the heavy, movable loads out of the evening peak: run the washing machine, iron, dishwasher, and water pump before or after the peak window, pre-cool the house before peak and ease off the AC during it, and heat water off-peak. This only changes your bill if you are on a time-of-use meter.
Are peak-hour timings the same everywhere in Pakistan?
They follow the same idea, an evening window, but the exact hours are set by NEPRA, shift with the season, and can differ a little between companies. The hours that apply to your connection are the ones printed on your bill or in your company's latest notice.

See your peak and off-peak units

Open your official bill to see whether your meter splits peak and off-peak units, then use the tips above to move the heavy jobs to the cheaper hours.

More Guides

Keep going with our other simple guides to your electricity bill.