How do I read my electric utility bill?
The essential step to successfully enrolling in smart charging is identifying your specific utility plan name. Your electric utility bill contains this information. We've prepared this guide to help you navigate your bill and find this information.
Bill Details
Your electric utility bill is divided into several sections, each providing information about your electricity consumption, charges, and more. Here are some key sections you may find:
Account Summary:
This section provides a snapshot of your account, including the total amount due, previous balance, payments made, and current charges.
Service and Meter Data:
Here, you'll find detailed information about your electricity consumption, including the meter reading data, total kilowatt-hours (kWh) used, and the billing period.
Delivery Charges:
These are the charges associated with delivering electricity to your home. It includes transmission and distribution charges, among others.
Finding your utility plan name
Look for a section named “Rate” or similar:
Often, the utility plan name is listed in a section labeled “Rate,” “Plan,” “Tariff,” or something similar. It is typically located near the service and meter data.
Identify the plan name:
The plan name could be listed as “Residential,” “Time of Use (TOU),” “Demand Rate,” or other specific names, depending on the electricity provider and the type of plan you are enrolled in.
Note down the plan name:
Make a note of this name as you will need to enter it during the Smart Charging enrollment process in TenetConnect.
Example utility plan names
Residential: A standard plan with fixed rates, not dependent on the time of electricity usage.
Time of Use (TOU): Rates vary depending on the time of day electricity is used, with different rates for peak and off-peak hours.
What are my key numbers?
At Tenet, we want to help you understand the positive impacts to your wallet and the planet, at no cost to you.
Your key numbers are the real financial savings and environmental impact of your charging and driving habits. By connecting your vehicle to Tenet, we’ll help you discover the economic efficiency of your vehicle, keep an eye on your fuel and maintenance costs, and anticipate the future value of your car.
You’ll be able to track your carbon footprint, making a tangible difference in the fight against climate change. Connecting your vehicle is the first step in that journey.
It’s your car, your savings and your planet. Let’s protect them together.
How do we calculate your financial savings?
Tenet calculates your financial savings using a proprietary model. Essentially, we look at several variables:
Maintenance Cost: We calculate this based on how much you’re driving and how much you’ve previously driven. This may vary over time considering wear, tear, and age of vehicle parts.
Gas Cost: We calculate this based on date (accounting for fluctuating fuel prices), location (accounting for regional fuel cost differences), and miles driven.
Electricity Cost: Similar to the gas cost, we calculate this based on date, location, and the amount of electricity consumed in kWh. The kWh consumed is based on mileage and the vehicle's fuel efficiency (miles per kWh).
Residual Value: This feature is coming soon, using Tenet’s proprietary data, which is currently used to provide loans. This will consider factors such as vehicle make, model, age, and condition, and is potentially depreciated based on proprietary algorithms.
Your savings are then calculated as the difference between the costs associated with your vehicle and a gas-powered equivalent.
How do we calculate your environment impact?
We calculate the daily CO2 emissions for your EV utilizing a combination of official U.S. government data on emissions, odometer readings from your vehicle, and fuel economy data specific to your vehicle model.
Here are the variables we take into account:
Miles Driven: This comes from your vehicle's odometer readings.
Electricity Consumption (kWh): Based on your miles driven and the energy efficiency of your vehicle (miles per kWh), we estimate the electricity consumed in kilowatt-hours (kWh)
Electricity Emissions: We calculate the emissions associated with electricity consumption, based on the carbon intensity of your local energy grid. Essentially, this is how ‘clean’ or ‘dirty’ the energy production is in your area.
Comparison Vehicle: For comparison purposes, we identify an equivalent gas-powered vehicle based on attributes such as size, class, or average MPG. In the future, we hope to offer the ability to customize the comparison vehicle.
Comparison Vehicle Emissions: We calculate the emissions that the comparison vehicle would produce for the same miles driven. We use standard emissions factors that look at the carbon content of gasoline and the average efficiency of the comparison vehicle.
Emissions Reduction: We calculate the difference between the emissions of the comparison vehicle against your vehicle for the same miles driven. This shows a direct measure of the environmental benefits of driving an EV versus a traditional gas-powered vehicle.