ED3 Peak Hours & TOU Rates 2026: The Complete Guide for Maricopa Homeowners

If you live in Maricopa, Arizona, your electric company is ED3 — Electrical District No. 3 of Pinal County. Not APS. Not SRP. And that distinction matters more than most people realize, because everything you read online about “Arizona electricity rates” or “Arizona net metering” describes APS or SRP — none of it applies to ED3.

ED3 is a political subdivision of Arizona (not a co-op, not investor-owned) that sets its own rates through an elected 7-member board. It's not regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission. This guide covers every rate plan ED3 offers in 2026, with the exact numbers from their published rate schedule (revised March 26, 2026).

ED3 Rate Plans at a Glance

ED3 offers four residential rate plans. Most Maricopa homes are on the standard tiered rate (Rate 01) by default. The TOU plan is opt-in and requires a 12-month commitment.

Standard Rate (Rate 01): The Default

Most Maricopa homes start on this plan. It's a simple two-tier structure with no time-of-use windows — every kWh costs the same regardless of when you use it.

Plus a $20/month basic service charge, the PPCA rider ($0.01338/kWh — adds ~$20/month for a 1,500 kWh home), and the $0.29/month Commitment to Community surcharge. The total effective rate for a typical 1,500 kWh home works out to roughly $0.13-0.14/kWh all-in.

The one quirk: underground service costs 4 cents more per kWh on the higher tier than overhead. Most newer Maricopa subdivisions have underground service, so check your bill.

TOU 2-9 (Rate A1): Where the Real Savings Are

This is where it gets interesting. ED3's TOU plan has a three-season structure — most Arizona utilities use two seasons, but ED3 splits summer into Summer and Super Summer (July-August), when rates spike to their highest.

ED3 Peak Hours

• On-Peak: Monday through Friday, 2:00 PM — 9:00 PM
• Off-Peak: All other hours, plus weekends and holidays

Note that ED3's peak window is wider than APS (which is 4-7pm) and starts earlier than SRP (which is 2-8pm). The 2-9pm window means you need to shift heavy usage before 2pm or after 9pm.

ED3 TOU Rates by Season

The critical insight: off-peak is a flat $0.0602/kWh year-round — one of the cheapest electricity rates in all of Arizona. That number never changes between seasons. The on-peak rate is what swings, hitting $0.2482/kWh during Super Summer — a 4.1x spread that makes shifting usage extremely valuable.

For context, APS's peak-to-off-peak spread is about 3.8x, and SRP's is about 2.7x. ED3's Super Summer spread is among the steepest in the state. If you can avoid running heavy appliances between 2-9pm in July and August, the savings are substantial.

How Much Can You Save on ED3 TOU?

Let's run the math for a typical 1,500 kWh/month Maricopa home in Super Summer:

At 75% off-peak usage (achievable with a smart thermostat and basic load shifting), you save roughly $64/month in Super Summer. Over a full year, that's $400-700 in annual savings just from switching to TOU and running your heavy appliances at the right times.

ED3 EV Charging Rate (TOU A2)

If you own an electric vehicle, ED3's EV-specific rate plan is exceptional. The peak window extends to 10pm (one hour later than the standard TOU), but it adds a super-off-peak window from midnight to 5am at $0.0560/kWh — the cheapest electricity in Maricopa.

At the super-off-peak rate, charging a Tesla costs about 1.4 cents per mile — roughly 10x cheaper than gasoline at current Arizona prices. Set your Tesla to start charging at midnight and you're driving for almost nothing.

The EV plan has a $25/month base charge ($5 more than standard TOU) and requires annual EV registration verification. It's currently a pilot program and not available to solar/DG customers (ED3 says a future release will open it to solar customers).

Compare this to EV charging costs on APS and SRP — ED3's super-off-peak rate is competitive with APS's best off-peak pricing.

How to Sign Up for ED3 TOU

1. Call ED3 at (520) 424-9021 or visit ed3online.org
2. Request enrollment in TOU 2-9 (or TOU A2 EV if you have an electric vehicle)
3. ED3 installs a free TOU meter at no charge
4. The plan requires a 12-month commitment — you can't switch back to standard during that period

The 12-month commitment scares some people off, but the math is clear: if you can keep even 50% of your usage in off-peak hours, TOU saves money in every season. The only scenario where standard wins is if you genuinely can't avoid running heavy loads during 2-9pm weekdays.

ED3 vs APS vs SRP: How Maricopa Compares

ED3's off-peak rate ($0.0602) is the cheapest off-peak electricity in the Phoenix metro area — half the price of APS off-peak and cheaper than SRP. The trade-off is a wider peak window (7 hours vs APS's 3 hours). For comparison tools, try our APS Bill Calculator and SRP Bill Calculator to see how your usage would look on those utilities.

Tools to Save on ED3 TOU Rates

The same strategies that work on APS and SRP work even better on ED3 because of the steeper peak-to-off-peak spread. Every kWh you shift out of peak saves more money on ED3 than on any other Arizona utility.

ED3 Peak Rewards Program

ED3 runs a demand response program called Peak Rewards that pays you to let them adjust your thermostat during grid emergencies:

• $25 one-time enrollment incentive
• $25/year ongoing participation payment
• Up to $100 in rebates on eligible smart thermostats (Nest, ecobee, Honeywell, Sensi)
• Summer events: May 1 - Oct 31, 9am-9pm weekdays (~20-30 events/season)
• Temperature adjustment: just 2-3°F — most people don't notice

It's basically free money. The $100 thermostat rebate alone pays for almost half of an ecobee, and then you get $25/year just for participating. Call (520) 424-9021 to enroll.

What ED3 Doesn't Have (Yet)

A few things ED3 customers should know:

• No demand charges — unlike SRP, your bill doesn't spike based on a single peak hour. This is a genuine advantage.
• No super off-peak window on the standard TOU plan — APS has a 10am-3pm super off-peak at $0.09/kWh. ED3's TOU is simpler: peak or off-peak, no middle tier.
• Solar customers can't use TOU yet — ED3's website says DG TOU is “Coming Soon.” The rate is formally adopted but not yet enabled operationally.
• No VPP program — APS pays $500+/year through their Virtual Power Plant. ED3 doesn't have anything equivalent (yet).

The Bottom Line for Maricopa Homeowners

ED3's TOU 2-9 plan offers some of the cheapest off-peak electricity in Arizona at $0.0602/kWh — but the 7-hour peak window (2-9pm) means you need to be intentional about when you run heavy appliances. A smart thermostat that pre-cools before 2pm is the single highest-ROI investment you can make. Combine that with running your pool pump, laundry, and dishwasher during off-peak hours, and you're looking at $400-700/year in savings compared to the standard rate.

If you own a Tesla or other EV, the TOU A2 EV plan is one of the best EV charging deals in Arizona — $4.20 for a full charge at 1.4 cents per mile is almost free.

New to Maricopa? If you just moved here from the Phoenix metro, forget everything you knew about APS or SRP rates. ED3 is a completely different utility with different rates, different peak hours, and different programs. This guide has the real numbers — bookmark it.