How Do I Set Up Phased Electricity Pricing?

Some utilities can implement Time Of Day (TOD) pricing because the utility has installed 'smart' meters that have data connectivity to the utility and can report usage in 'near real time'. A phone call to the utility is usually all it takes to set up TOD billing.

I recall that in the dark ages, the municipal utility company in Hingham, Mass. implemented TOD usage for the 80 gallon water heater in the house I grew up in, through the use of a separate meter that was configured (using an internal clock), to only operate during those off-peak hours. The TOD meter was connected to the lower heating element of the water heater. The top element of the water heater was connected to the 'normal' circuits in the panel.