When Darcy Small’s 4-year-old twin daughters go off to college, they’ll have a stash of cash that came directly from savings on their family’s annual utility bill. The Small family moved from Oregon to Arizona a year ago and went from not using an air conditioner to having a summer utility bill that topped out at $600 a month. Small learned of SRP’s Time-of-Day Price Plans and out of necessity signed up for SRP EZ-3™.

“We were probably just like typical customers, running our air conditioner all day to keep it comfortable,” Small explained. “We then got an insert in our SRP bill about price plans, and our perception was, ‘I don’t want to be hot for three hours during the day.’ But then we gave it a try for one month, and we were sold.”

With high summer temperatures approaching, SRP is once again offering customers a guaranteed way to save money. The two Time-of-Day plans are designed to accommodate a variety of lifestyles and are popular with customers who can be flexible with energy usage. The more flexibility customers have, the more they can save.

“It’s actually quite easy once you figure out exactly how to do it,” Small added. “During the hotter months, our thermostat is set at 72 degrees during the day, which is most comfortable for us. At 1:30 p.m., the thermostat is set to go down to 62 degrees, and then at 3 p.m., it turns off. From 3 to 6 p.m., the air conditioner doesn’t run. So by 6 p.m., it’s usually 79 degrees, which is starting to get a bit warm, but then it kicks back down to 72 degrees.”

SRP Time-of-Day plans offer lower prices during off-peak hours to encourage customers to use less energy during on-peak hours, when the cost to produce electricity is highest. From now through Oct. 31, 2012, residential customers who switch to either EZ-3 or SRP Time-of-Use™ are guaranteed to save by shifting energy usage to the lower-priced off-peak hours.

If a customer’s first three bills exceed what would have been paid on the residential Basic Price Plan, the customer can call SRP within 30 days of the third utility bill to be credited the difference and returned to the Basic plan at no charge. To learn more, go to savewithsrp.com/prices or call (602) 236-8888.

SRP also offers a Time-of-Use Plan for Business customers. For more information, call the Business Contact Center at (602) 236-9632 or log on to savewithsrpbiz.com/prices.

“It’s the easiest money you will ever save,” Small boasted. “Give it a try for one month, and I can almost guarantee you won’t go back to the regular plan. The extra money goes straight into our children’s college accounts … that’s about $500 every year. So over 18 years, it’s a pretty decent college fund.”

For more information on how to save on your utility bill, visit SRP’s website at srpnet.com.