Starting Monday, Colorado Springs Utilities customers will pay different prices for electricity depending on what time of day they use it.The biggest change hits weekday evenings. From 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, the on-peak rate jumps nearly double from approximately $0.15 per kilowatt-hour to approximately $0.29 per kilowatt-hour.Outside of those hours, the off-peak rate stays at approximately $0.07 per kilowatt-hour.The summer rates run through September 30. Utility officials say bills could run about 10% higher this summer, but only if customers keep using electricity the same way they always have. We are coming off our Winter Rate schedule, which runs October - May.The idea is to nudge people toward running dishwashers, doing laundry, and cranking the AC outside of those expensive evening hours.The reason for the higher summer rates comes down to demand. During the hottest months, everyone is running their air conditioning at the same time, and that drives up what it costs Colorado Springs Utilities to generate and purchase electricity.Colorado Springs Utilities says the overall rate structure is revenue neutral, bills tend to run about 5% lower during the eight winter months, which offsets the summer increase across the four summer months.Some southeast Colorado Springs residents say they have already been making changes long before the new rates kicked in.Gwen Reisdorff times her household tasks around her daughter's bedtime, which, under the new rates, also happens to fall right at the end of the peak pricing window."After she goes to bed around 8:30 p.m, I do my chores like dishes and etc.," said Reisdorff.Others like Velda Martin say watching utility costs has become second nature."I don't turn the heat on all winter unless it's like 17 degrees," said Martin.Not everyone is feeling confident heading into summer, though Reisdorff says her bill was already climbing before the new rates even started."I'm already nervous because even our May bill was higher than normal than I've ever had it before," said Reisdorff.Martin said the small stuff adds up."Remember to turn the lights off," said Martin. "Remember, be conscious of the water usage, it's okay to unplug things."Martin said she has taken things a step further."I do laundry by hand because I don't wanna use more electricity taking my laundry to the laundry room," said Martin.It is not just households feeling the pressure. At a newly opened ice cream shop in southeast Colorado Springs, Rizutos Ice Cream employees are still figuring out what the summer rates will mean for them.They are already looking for easy wins where they can find them.Colorado Springs Utilities offers a few straightforward ways to shift usage and keep bills down, which you can view below: cool your home early: Run the air conditioner during off-peak hours and ease off between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. time your laundry: Run washers and dryers on weekends or before 5 p.m. on weekdays. Skipping the dryer altogether saves even more. delay the dishes: Most dishwashers have a delay setting. Running it after 9 p.m. on weeknights takes advantage of the cheaper off-peak rate.Colorado Springs Utilities has an Energy Wise appliance tool on its website that shows exactly how much more certain appliances cost to run during peak hours.___ _______Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching. ...read more read less