The key to saving electricity — and money — is to become aware of how you use it. Power by the Hour is the first step to help raise your awareness of how you use electricity. Enroll here or browse through the FAQ below. Already a member? Click here to sign in.

What is it?

Power by the Hour is a Co-Mo Electric member benefit that allows you to track how much electricity you use.

How much does it cost?

Nothing! You have access to Power by the Hour simply by being a Co-Mo member. The signup process is simple. Enroll here.

How does it work?

Simply speaking, Co-Mo takes a reading of your meter each hour. That data is translated into a graph that will appear only for you on Co-Mo’s homepage each time you visit.

Technically speaking, Co-Mo is taking advantage of technology already installed on your meter called TWACS — Two Way Automatic Communications System. TWACS allows your meter to tell us how much electricity you have used so we don’t have to send a meter reader to your property each month. Taking that technology a step further, we can use the data it is giving us and run it through a simple program to turn it into a graph so you can chart your electricity use. It’ll look something like this:

Is it safe?

Yes. Power By the Hour customizes the Co-Mo Web site to be your personal electricity-use Web site. After you enroll, each time you return to www.co-mo.coop, you will see a thumbnail version of your electricity-use graph right on the home page. Click it for more details and a larger view.

No sensitive personal data is provided on the graph

What's a kWh?

kWh is an abbreviation for kilowatt hour, the commercial unit of electric energy that equals 1,000 watt hours. A kilowatt hour can best be visualized as the amount of electricity consumed by ten 100-watt light bulbs burning for an hour.

What's degree day?

A degree day is a measure of heating or cooling. Technically speaking, it is unit of measurement equal to a difference of one degree between the average outdoor temperature on a certain day and a reference temperature.

Confused? Here’s an example. Co-Mo estimates an outside temperature with which most people would not need to use any heating or cooling in their homes. We do this because heating or cooling your home makes up the largest part of your electricity use. Let’s say that temperature is 72 degrees.

We then take the average temperature for the day. Let’s say it’s 62 degrees. That would then be a 10 degree day.

This number helps you put your energy use in context. Obviously you would expect to use more energy on a 10 degree day than a 1 degree day. It’s when you start seeing energy use on small degree days that compares with energy use on large degree days that you should start examining your habits and patterns.

What's a peak time?

A peak time is when there is the most demand for electricity from Co-Mo Electric. Co-Mo tries to spread out the demand on its system as much as possible to keep the rate it purchases power lower and to keep its transformers from becoming overloaded. By making our members aware of their peak-time energy use, we hope to educate people on making smart energy choices. For example, perhaps that dishwasher could be run at a different time than during the peak.

How can I use the information Power by the Hour provides?

There are lots of ways. You can start to see the effects that different things have on your electricity use. For example, you can see the difference in your electricity use when you have family come visit for the weekend or when the kids come home from college. Or you can see the effect on your electricity use when you plug in that new big-screen TV.

It also can help you chart the effects of energy-saving ideas, such as caulking your windows, adding insulation to your attic or unplugging entertainment center electronics when they aren’t in use. For more ways to save energy, visit www.TogetherWeSave.com and take the home tour to find out just how much money you can save.

What else can Power by the Hour do for me?

We are planning the next generation of tools to be a part of Power by the Hour. The plan is to use TWACS technology to make Power by the Hour a completely suite of energy-efficiency options so you can take control of how much energy you use — and how much money you spend on electricity each month. Stay tuned.

How do I sign up?

It’s easy! First, get a copy of your bill. You will need some of the information on it to sign up. Then, click here.

Disclaimer: Power by the Hour is an informational tool only and may not reflect the exact usage amounts that will appear on your bill. Things such as meter exchanges, service changes, communication issues and electrical outages may affect the accuracy of Power by the Hour.