Power and Utilities Cost of Service and Rates
The changing landscape of residential solar rates
Trends in residential solar rates are evolving as solar adoption increases. What are some recent trends in payments to solar customers that are equitable for all ratepayers - both solar and non-solar?
Developing data center electric rates - Not your average customer
Data centers are energy-intensive customers, operating 24/7 to support vital digital infrastructure like cloud computing and servers. Creating tailored electric rates is crucial to ensure reliable service, enhance energy efficiency, and protect rates for other users. Custom solutions meet their unique needs while promoting sustainability.
Regularly Updating Utility Rates is Critical to Implementing Strategies
Maintaining electric rates is a necessity to meeting strategy. What are the adverse effects of posting rate increases and what are strategies for “keeping up”?
FERC Order No. 1920 - Designed to rebuild the new grid but may have unintended impacts
FERC Order No. 1920, issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, is a regulatory mandate to modernize and enhance the nation's energy infrastructure's reliability, security, and efficiency. As with any broad order, there are winners and other impacts to consider, plus future court challenges.
Securing your co-op/utility debt repayment for large industrial customer facilities
Industrial customers may comprise a large portion of the load and volume of your electric, gas, wastewater, and water services. They are the customers that can be economic drivers in the community. They can also be the customers that require specific services or expansion of your facilities.
How do you provide financial security for the co-op/utility and rat equity for your other ratepayers? An industrial services contract is one method that is proven to work.
Electric Rates for Electric Vehicles
Electric vehicle rates - It is possible to encourage early adoption of EVs with special rate structures and charger rebates. This article shows some actual examples of current utility programs designed around time-of-use charging rates and rebates for electric charging equipment. Consider these as you look to options for your utility or co-op.
Electric vehicle charging subscription rates? An app for that?
An electric vehicle subscription charging rate is gaining traction in the industry. That is, the same flat monthly rate paid by EV customers to charge their vehicles as much or as little as they'd like. What are the financial considerations for an EV subscription rate and the benefits to the EV customer and electric provider?
Best Practices in Electric Cost of Service Studies
Using FERC accounting drives electric cost of service studies and electric rates. Electric rates drive revenues and recover the full costs of operations, debt service, and capital additions of a utility. While most investor-owned utilities, electric cooperatives, and large municipal utilities use the “utility method” to develop electric rates, many small to mid-sized utilities base their rates on utility cash flows. What’s the difference? Does it matter? This article dives into the differences between the two methods and provides an opinion on what method would benefit your utility’s ratemaking and cost recovery.
Use ASC 980 or GASB 62 to Bridge the Gap Between Solar Power and Electric Budgets
ASC 980 and GASB 62 can help revenue recovery of budget misses due to unforecasted solar and renewable energy generation, from distributed energy resources (DER).
With analytical trend tools at our disposal, budgets are more realistic and numbers can be tighter. However, as your DER customers grow, their increased generation trends may not show up yet in historical sales data and not be included in budgets. This article discusses the use of ASC 980 and GASB 62 in making sure budget shortfalls are not “lost” revenues.
Electric Rates for Solar Power and DERs
Distributed energy resources (DERs) are taking on a greater role in the energy planning process for co-ops and utilities. FERC Order 2222 and the NARUC Distributed Energy Resources Rate Design and Compensation publication discuss this trend and the recommended rate structures that are becoming industry best practices.