Georgia Power’s optional Time-of-Use Residential Energy Only rate only actually charges peak pricing for four months a year. From October through May, the rate is flat all day, every day. From June through September, a 2–7pm peak window shows up at 27.6¢/kWh against an off-peak rate under 9¢, more than a 3x gap.
Georgia Power's TOU peak window only applies in summer. Look up the exact hours for your plan.
See my peak hours →Schedule TOU-REO-13
Georgia Power sells several versions of this energy-only TOU rate (REO-12, REO-13, REO-15, differing mainly in the monthly base charge and the exact per-kWh price), plus separate PEV versions for EV owners. REO-13 is a representative middle option.
| Season | Months | Structure | Peak rate | Off-peak / flat rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter/shoulder | Oct–May | Flat all day, every day | n/a | 8.8¢/kWh |
| Summer | Jun–Sep | Peak 2–7pm weekdays; off-peak all other hours | 27.6¢/kWh | 8.8¢/kWh weekdays, all day weekends |
Eight months of the year, there’s no reason to think about timing at all on this plan, it’s a flat rate. The entire TOU story happens in a four-month window, and specifically on weekday afternoons within that window.
What Shifting Is Worth, in Dollars
Take a summer weekday: dishwasher and a load of laundry, about 4 kWh, run inside the 2–7pm window.
At peak: 4 kWh × $0.276 = $1.10 Same load shifted to after 7pm: 4 kWh × $0.088 = $0.35
That’s $0.75 saved per shifted routine, a 68% cut. Since this only applies on summer weekdays (roughly 85 days), consistently shifting one routine is worth about $64 for the season, real money, but concentrated into a narrow window of the year.
The Weekend Rule Matters More Than People Realize
Weekends are off-peak all day, every week, all summer. If your household does laundry, runs the dishwasher, or does any heavy cooking on Saturday or Sunday instead of a weekday evening, that usage never touches the 27.6¢ rate at all, no scheduling gymnastics required, just a day-of-week shift.
Should You Be on TOU-REO?
Because eight months of the year this plan behaves exactly like the standard flat rate, switching to it is close to a free option for anyone whose usage doesn’t spike specifically on summer weekday afternoons. The downside case is narrow too: even someone who can’t avoid the 2–7pm window in summer is only exposed to the higher rate for four months. Households running window AC units or older, less efficient central air that peaks hardest in the mid-afternoon are the ones who should actually run the comparison before switching, since that’s exactly the load this plan prices highest.
For more on cutting a high electric bill beyond the rate plan itself, see how to lower your electric bill.
I can run your last 12 months of Georgia Power usage against the standard rate and TOU-REO and tell you which one actually costs less for how you live.
Find my best Georgia Power plan →For a broader diagnosis of what’s driving a high bill in the first place, see why is my electric bill so high.
Dana Whitmore
Energy Engineer & Billing Analyst · Optiwatt Energy Advisor
Dana has spent the past three years analyzing residential electricity billing data across PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E service territories. She's reviewed billing records for thousands of California households, and built the simulation engine that powers this site's rate-plan comparisons. She holds a degree in Electrical Engineering and lives in the Bay Area.