ComEd Time-of-Day vs. Hourly Pricing Compared
Which ComEd Rate Saves EV Owners and Households More
ComEd customers who want to move electricity use to cheaper hours now have two main options: Hourly Pricing, which changes the supply price every hour with the wholesale market, and Delivery Time-of-Day (DTOD), which charges one of four fixed delivery prices depending on the time of day. Both are time-variant rates, and both count toward the ComEd EV charger rebate requirement.
They solve different problems. Hourly Pricing is a bet on wholesale markets, with a low average price and occasional spikes. DTOD is a predictable schedule that mostly changes what you pay for the wires. You can also use both at the same time. This guide explains how each one works, where they differ, and which one fits which household.
The short version
- • Charging an EV overnight? Both plans reward it. Overnight is the cheapest window under DTOD and was the cheapest stretch of the day under Hourly Pricing in our data.
- • Want predictable bills? DTOD. Prices are fixed in advance, and there are no spike hours.
- • Can shift loads and tolerate volatility? Hourly Pricing has the lower average cost, and it can be layered with DTOD.
- • Heavy use between 1 PM and 7 PM? Be careful with DTOD, because that is its most expensive window.
Supply vs. Delivery: Why You Can Pick Both
A ComEd bill has two main halves. Supply is the electricity itself, and delivery pays for the poles, wires, and meters. (Our guide to reading your ComEd bill covers every line item.)
Hourly Pricing only touches supply. Delivery Time-of-Day only touches delivery, and your supply price stays whatever it already was, whether that is the standard fixed rate, an alternative supplier, or Hourly Pricing, according to ComEd.. That means the real choice is not DTOD or Hourly. It is which of these four combinations you want:
- • Fixed supply + flat delivery (the default)
- • Fixed supply + DTOD
- • Hourly Pricing + flat delivery
- • Hourly Pricing + DTOD
How Delivery Time-of-Day Works
DTOD is a new ComEd delivery rate for 2026 and splits the day into four fixed windows, per ComEd:
| Window | Hours | Delivery price* |
|---|---|---|
| Overnight | 9 PM – 6 AM | ≈ 3.0¢/kWh |
| Morning | 6 AM – 1 PM | ≈ 4¢/kWh |
| Mid-Day Peak | 1 PM – 7 PM | ≈ 10.7¢/kWh |
| Evening | 7 PM – 9 PM | ≈ 4¢/kWh |
| Standard flat delivery | All hours | ≈ 5.9¢/kWh |
*Approximate rates ComEd proposed for most customers, as reported by Canary Media before launch. Your actual prices depend on your delivery class (single-family or multi-family, electric heat or not), and rates change over time. Canary Media also reported a standard delivery charge of about 5.9¢/kWh. ComEd's current rate tables were not available to us, so check ComEd's DTOD page for your class and current rates.
The pattern is simple: delivery is roughly half the standard price overnight and well above standard during the afternoon. Households that keep afternoon use low come out ahead. ComEd's own pilot, covered by Canary Media, found that participants on time-based rates reduced peak demand by 6.5% to 9.7% each summer.
EV bill credit
Customers who register an EV when they enroll in DTOD get a $2 monthly bill credit per vehicle for up to 24 months, for up to two vehicles. That is worth up to $48 per car over the credit period. It is small, but it is free money for something you were going to do anyway.
How ComEd Hourly Pricing Works
Hourly Pricing (Rate BESH) replaces your fixed supply price with the wholesale market price, which updates every hour. As ComEd explains in its Hourly Pricing FAQ, you pay for electricity at the market price, so it rises and falls with demand, weather, and generation. The wholesale market operator, PJM, caps the hourly energy price at $3.70 per kWh.
The tradeoff is the one our Q1 2026 hourly pricing report showed in detail. Across 24,332 price readings, the median price was 2.60¢/kWh, well below the fixed rate, but the average was pulled up to 3.64¢ by a few extreme events, including a 264¢ spike on March 12 that lasted minutes. If you can avoid the spikes, hourly pricing is cheap. If you cannot, it is not.
Average Hourly Supply Price by DTOD Window, Q1 2026
Average ComEd hourly price (¢/kWh), grouped into DTOD windows. Data: Electrac price tracker.
Two things stand out. Overnight was cheapest under both pricing systems, which is why overnight EV charging is the easy win on either plan. But the hours that were expensive on the wholesale market in winter (6 AM and the 5 to 8 PM evening ramp) do not line up neatly with DTOD's 1 to 7 PM peak. This is a winter quarter, so summer will look different, with hot afternoons pushing wholesale prices up when DTOD is also at its priciest.
Cost Example: Charging an EV Overnight
Here is an illustration for a driver who charges 3,600 kWh a year (roughly 12,000 miles at 3 miles per kWh), all of it between 9 PM and 6 AM. It combines ComEd's published fixed supply price to compare of about 10.1¢ (the October 2026 through May 2027 rate listed by Plug In Illinois), the approximate delivery rates above, and our Q1 2026 overnight average of 2.58¢ for hourly supply.
| Combination | Supply + delivery | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed supply + flat delivery | 10.1¢ + 5.9¢ = 16.0¢ | ≈ $576 |
| Fixed supply + DTOD | 10.1¢ + 3.0¢ = 13.1¢ | ≈ $472 |
| Hourly Pricing + flat delivery | 2.6¢ + 5.9¢ = 8.5¢ | ≈ $305 |
| Hourly Pricing + DTOD | 2.6¢ + 3.0¢ = 5.6¢ | ≈ $201 |
Illustrative only. Uses per-kWh energy and delivery prices and ignores fixed monthly charges, taxes, and the $2/month EV credit. The hourly figure is a winter-quarter average, not a forecast, and Hourly Pricing customers are billed separate capacity and miscellaneous procurement charges that the hourly market price does not include, per ComEd's FAQ, so the real gap between hourly and fixed is smaller than shown.
Even with those caveats, the ordering is clear. DTOD alone trims roughly $104 a year off this driver's charging cost. Hourly Pricing does more, but its savings are the ones that can disappear in a bad month. DTOD's are locked in by the schedule. You can estimate your own numbers with our EV charging cost calculator.
Which Plan Fits Which Household
DTOD fits you if...
- • You want a fixed schedule and no surprise spikes
- • Most of your flexible load is EV charging, which can run overnight
- • Your home uses little power between 1 PM and 7 PM
- • You want the EV credit with minimal effort
Hourly Pricing fits you if...
- • You can automate or schedule your big loads (charger, dryer, water heater)
- • You can reduce use during price spikes
- • You want the lowest average supply cost and can ride out a bad month
- • You check prices, or use alerts, so you know when to hold off
DTOD is the weaker choice for a household running central air all afternoon in July, since that load lands in the 10.7¢ delivery window. Our dynamic pricing guide covers how to track hourly prices if you go that route.
What This Means for the EV Charger Rebate
The rebate requires you to enroll in a time-variant rate and stay on it for three years. ComEd's program documentation lists both Hourly Pricing and Delivery Time-of-Day as qualifying options, and the three years run from the date your application is approved, so choose a plan you can live with before your installer submits. A time-variant rate from an alternative supplier can also qualify.
Rebate funding and tier availability have changed during 2026, so confirm current terms on ComEd's rebate page before you buy anything. Our guide to rebate-eligible chargers covers what the charger itself has to support, including the scheduling features that make either plan work.
How to Decide in Four Steps
- Find your delivery class. It is printed on your bill or listed in your online account, and it determines your DTOD prices.
- List your flexible loads. EV charging, laundry, dishwasher, and water heating can all move. Air conditioning mostly cannot.
- Look at your afternoon use. If you are home and cooling between 1 and 7 PM, DTOD's peak window works against you.
- Start with DTOD, add Hourly later if you want. DTOD is a low-risk first step, and because the two plans cover different halves of the bill, you can add Hourly Pricing on top once you are comfortable watching prices.
The Bottom Line
For most households with an EV, charging overnight is the biggest lever on either plan, and DTOD is the safer way to pull it. Hourly Pricing pays more for people willing to pay attention, and the two can be combined. If you are unsure, a free tool like the Electrac price tracker lets you watch real hourly prices for a few weeks before you commit to anything.
