In-Season and Out-of-Season

Understanding Your Meter Read Date & Why It’s Important

Knowing when Idaho Power reads your automated irrigation meter can help you manage your power bill and optimize your irrigation pump usage. Each meter has a specific read date noted on your bill. The meter records the highest demand (kilowatt [kW]) and energy use (kilowatt-hour [kWh]) used for the current reading cycle. The in-season and out-of-season rates depend on the read date. For the 2024 Irrigation Demand In-Season Card, click here.

Rate Schedule 24 Irrigation Customers

If you are an irrigation service customer Rate Schedule 24, the meter resets the demand and energy use for the next billing cycle at the start of the day (morning), 12:00 a.m. (0:00 Hour) on the read date (see clock graphic below). If any usage occurs during the reading cycle following the reset of the metered demand, it is recorded and appears on the next month’s bill. 

In-Season Rates
  • The in-season rates begin with the customer’s meter reading for the May billing cycle and end with the customer’s meter reading for the September billing cycle. Read dates are determined by that service point’s billing cycle and can vary from year to year.
    •  2024 demand season starts as early as April 29, 2024, and as late as May 29, 2024, as Idaho Power has 21 meter read date cycles. May billing cycles can start as early as the last few days in April depending on the overall meter reading schedules for the year.
    •  Demand charges continue through to the September read date. 
    •  During the demand season, turning on your pump after your meter is read will result in a demand charge on your next monthly bill. 

The above example is the in-season rates for Rate Schedule 24. The read date for read cycle 4 is listed as May 3. The customer’s bill from April to May will have an end reading on May 3 at 12:00 a.m. (0:00 hour). Any use after 12:00 a.m. (0:00 hour) on that date is in-season. The demand (kW) and energy (kWh) usage will be billed on the next billing invoice according to the in-season rate schedule, and a demand charge will apply. 

Out-of-Season Rates
  • For 2024, demand charges end for cycle one on August 29, 2024, and end for cycle 21 on September 29, 2024. At that point, out-of-season rates apply (which do not include a demand charge) and will continue through to the May meter read date (May read dates sometimes start in late April) of the following year. September billing cycles can start as early as the last few days in August depending on the overall meter reading schedules for the year. 
  • The example above also shows the read date for a Rate 24 customer for read Cycle 4, which is listed as September 4. The customer’s bill from August to September will have an end reading on September 4 at 12:00 a.m. (00:00 hour). Any use after 12:00 a.m. (00:00 hour) on September 4 is out-of-season, and a demand charge is not applied. Any energy (kWh) usage will be billed on the next invoice according to out-of-season energy rates. 

Why does Idaho Power have a demand (kW) charge?

The demand charge collects a portion of the fixed cost associated with the size of the connected load and encourages the smallest size to do the job. To learn more about how to minimize the impact of the demand charge, please visit Irrigation Efficiency Rewards or contact your local Ag Rep at Agriculture Representatives – Idaho Power.   

On-Site Generation Customers In- and Out-of-Season

Idaho and Oregon Rate Schedule 84, Net Billing Customers

On-site generation tariffs provide Idaho Power customers with on-site generation the ability to offset some or all of their energy needs. Effective January 2024 for Idaho Net Billing (Non-Legacy systems), and June 1, 2024, for Oregon Net Billing (Non-Legacy systems), meters will be read 24 hours later than they previously were. This timing difference ensures the demand read matches the applicable kWh reads. This change does not affect the read time for standard service Rate Schedule 24 Irrigation or Rate Schedule 84 Net Energy Metering (Legacy systems) on-site generation service points. For more information on Legacy vs Non-Legacy Systems, visit idahopower.com/customergeneration.

Will the number of days in my billing cycle change?

No. The number of days will remain unchanged; the only change is the timing on the day of the start and end of the cycle.

  • In-season rates Example: For Rate Schedule 84 Net Billing (Non-Legacy Systems), the read date for read cycle 4 is May 3. The customer’s bill from April to May will have an end reading on May 3 at 11:59 p.m. (23:59 hour). The demand (kW) and energy (kWh) usage after 11:59 p.m. (23:59 hour) will be billed on the next billing invoice according to the in-season rate schedule. 
  • Out-of-Season Example: For Rate Schedule 84 Net Billing (Non-Legacy Systems), the read date for Cycle 4 is September 4. The customer’s bill from August to September will have an end reading on September 4 at 11:59 p.m. (23:59 hour). Any use after 11:59 p.m. (23:59 hour) on September 4 is out-of-season and a demand charge is not applied. Any energy (kWh) usage will be billed on the next invoice according to the out-of-season rate schedule. 

For on-site generation legacy systems that receive Net Energy Metering (not Net Billing), demand resets the same as Rate Schedule 24 services.

Maximum system sizing is 100 kW, or the service point’s highest billed demand in the last 12 months. Billed demand is defined as assessed charges for demand that a customer is billed for. For irrigation customers, demand charges are only assessed during in-season billing periods. The in-season rates begin with the customer’s meter reading for the May billing cycle and end with the customer’s meter reading for the September billing cycle. For more details, visit idahopower.com/customergeneration.

Additional Resources

For assistance with a PDF on this page or to request a PDF in an alternate format, please contact Customer Service at 208-388-2323 or 1-800-488-6151