75% of residential and 60% of commercial customers receiving direct mail on benefits of using energy outside of high-demand hours reduced peak load
POUR PUBLICATION IMMÉDIATE
Monday, May 11, 2026
Contact presse :
Jackie Nuñez | Responsable de la communication
(925) 695-2124 | communications@mceCleanEnergy.org
SAN RAFAEL et CONCORD, Calif. Checking the time between 4-9 p.m. is paying off big time for local homes and businesses.
From July through September 2025, MCE launched a marketing campaign to test whether targeted messaging could reduce 4-9 p.m. peak electricity demand of residential and commercial customers with high evening use, when energy demand spikes and solar on the grid declines.
The campaign targeted homes and businesses with high evening energy use through direct mail, email, and digital ads. Among the households that received direct mail, 75% significantly shifted their energy use away from peak compared to the same period in 2024, reducing use during hours powered by the most polluting energy resources. Among commercial customers, 60% of those who received direct mail shifted their use away from peak times.
“Electricity demand is notoriously sticky and shifting customer behavior through marketing campaigns has been historically challenging for utilities. Highly targeted messaging to customers experiencing high bills from peak energy use can be effective in changing behavior. The customers that took action because of this campaign saw lower energy bills while helping to reduce strain on the grid when it is needed most.”
Key Results:
- More than 75% of residential customers that received direct mail materials reduced energy use during peak hours in 2025 compared to 2024. The average load shift for these customers was more than 12%. By comparison, between August 2024 to August 2025, 57% of all MCE residential customers reduced their peak load by an average of 1.2%. Between September 2024 and September 2025, 52.9% of MCE’s residential customers reduced their peak load by an average of about 4%.
- Households saved an estimated $200,000 in total from August through October 2025. Average EV customers saved over $15 per month. Other households saved closer to $5 per month.
- Commercial customers saved roughly $180,000, with about 60% of customers receiving direct mail reducing their peak energy use by 10%.
- Residential customers on an electric vehicle rate had a slightly lower overall response but had the highest load shift (nearly 18%).
“Because we’ve developed our customer-insights database in house, we can spot opportunities to reduce costs and make sure those savings go straight to our customers. These insights are transforming how we as local providers support our communities, giving people tools to make smarter energy choices.”
While the primary goal was load shifting, the campaign also generated more than 100 new enrollments in the MCE Sync smart charging app, MCE’s Home Energy Savings programet Medical Baseline.
“As a local provider, we can design messaging around what matters most to our community and analyze real usage patterns to maximize savings. These results give us a clear roadmap to build upon. EV customers show the greatest potential for shifting load and with more EVs on the road every day, the savings will compound. We plan to measure how long the effects of this campaign last by looking at the residual load shift over time for customers who reduced their peak use.”
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À propos de MCE : MCE est une agence publique à but non lucratif et le fournisseur d'électricité privilégié de plus de 600 000 comptes clients et de 1,8 million de résidents et d'entreprises dans les comtés de Contra Costa, Marin, Napa et Solano. Établissant la norme en matière d'énergie propre en Californie depuis 2010, MCE est leader avec 60-100% d'énergie renouvelable à des tarifs stables, desservant une charge de pointe de 1400 MW, réduisant de manière significative les émissions de gaz à effet de serre, et réinvestissant des millions dans des programmes locaux. Pour plus d'informations sur MCE, visitez le site mcecleanenergy.orgou suivez-nous sur votre plateforme sociale préférée @mceCleanEnergy.
