Electric Forklifts

In Kentucky, Electric Forklifts Plug Into the Power of the Night

July, 2018

Barrett Nolen

Kentucky Power



People who want to save some money while they see a movie buy tickets for a matinee show. Why? The theater owner already pays for the building and the films, so it makes sense for them to lower ticket prices mid-day to keep the seats filled and popcorn popping before the night rush. Similarly, savvy travelers book red-eye flights because of their super-low fares. Since the plane is already scheduled to fly overnight anyway, why not charge less to fill the seats and help pay for the fuel?

The same is true with your electric rates. Utilities have to build their electric infrastructure to meet everyone’s power needs around the clock. But at night and during weekends, when businesses shut down and residential lights go off, the demand for electric power plummets. So you can often save money by using more electricity overnight, when the utility isn’t straining to keep up with demand; these are called off-peak rates. Consumers who take advantage of these off-peak utility rates will see the conversion pay back even sooner!

For example, a recent rate change in Kentucky makes an even stronger case for conversion to all-electric forklifts. The difference between peak and off-peak rates is more than 10 cents per kW hour — a savings of almost 65 percent! So by plugging in overnight, recharging a forklift for tomorrow’s eight-hour shift of work drops to just a few cents per kilowatt-hour; that’s as close to free fuel as you can get. When you consider that electricity already powers a forklift at about one-third the cost of propane, LPG or diesel — even at peak rates — using off-peak electricity turns your energy expenditure dollars into nickels and dimes.

That’s especially valuable for today’s heavy-duty, indoor/outdoor electric forklifts, with their bigger batteries and higher power demands. When the sun goes down, the lift gets plugged into its charging port. Overnight, a smart meter is utilized to turn on the power as off-peak rates go into effect at 9 p.m., ensuring that most or all of your electricity is billed at the cheapest possible rate. If your forklifts work around the clock and recharge at different times, you’ll still get the 65 percent price break anytime you’re charging up between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. (and all weekend).

That’s why in Kentucky — and in many other states — the nighttime is the right time to power up.   

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