Who pays variable rates in a residential setting? I pay a flat $0.095/kWH regardless of time of day, demand, etc.
I thought all utilities were on a tiered pricing model. It's actually a technique employed by Arcata, CA to fight pot growing houses [1][2] that use > 600% of the baseline usage.
Also, I have lived places where middle of the day pricing is higher. My utility company just sent me an offer for tiered pricing by time of day. Smart meters help with implementing time of day pricing.
[1] http://www.arcataeye.com/2012/08/measure-i-the-grow-house-el...
[2] http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/11/03/pot-tow...