Time-of-use tariff (TOU)
Definition. A time-of-use tariff charges different per-unit rates for electricity depending on the hour it is consumed, using a meter that keeps separate registers for peak and off-peak periods.
Also called: TOU · Time of use · Peak/off-peak tariff
Where you see it: On a TOU bill the reading block shows two sets of readings and the charges block shows two energy lines, peak and off-peak.
Two registers, two rates
A TOU meter accumulates peak units in one register and off-peak units in another. The bill prices them separately, with the peak rate materially above the off-peak one.
The total units are the sum. The saving or penalty comes entirely from the split between the two.
Who is on it
Industrial and larger commercial connections are generally required to be TOU-metered. For domestic consumers it has historically applied above a sanctioned-load threshold, and adoption varies by DISCO and by meter replacement programme.
If your bill shows a single reading pair and a single energy line, you are not on TOU regardless of what kind of meter is on the wall.
Whether shifting load pays
For a household whose evening load is lighting, fans and a television, the shiftable share is small and TOU changes little. For one that runs a water pump, a washing machine, an iron and an electric geyser, moving those four out of the peak window is a real saving.
Air conditioning is the difficult case, because the peak window coincides with when people want it. Pre-cooling before the window opens and raising the thermostat during it captures part of the saving.
Frequently asked questions
Can I ask to be moved onto a TOU tariff?
Where the category permits it, yes — it requires a TOU-capable meter and a written application. It only pays if you genuinely can move load; a household with an evening-heavy profile will be worse off.
Does TOU change my slab?
TOU consumers are billed on the TOU schedule rather than the residential slab ladder, so the slab arithmetic that dominates ordinary domestic bills does not apply in the same way.
Related terms
- Peak hours — When the peak window actually falls in Pakistan, why it moves with the season, and which household loads are worth moving out of it.
- Smart meter — What Pakistan's AMI rollout changes for a consumer, what a smart meter can and cannot do, and whether smart meters really produce higher bills.
- Slab rate — How to read the slab table printed on the back of your bill, which slab your units land in, and the difference between marginal and re-priced slab billing.
- Load factor — How to calculate load factor from your own bill, what a good figure looks like, and why improving it lowers demand-based charges without reducing consumption.
Go further
Back to the full 44-term glossary, or open your own bill with the reference number lookup.