Power and Utilities Cost of Service and Rates
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?
Encouraging water conservation and cost of service water rates
The utility and electric co-op business model walks a fine line between encouraging customer conservation to be a steward of the environment and recovering the utility's cost of providing service to its customers. Other factors in play, such as greater efficiencies in water use in plumbing fixtures, recycled water, and smart watering, naturally drive down water use. In the electric business, reductions in electric use due to more efficient appliances, air conditioning, hearting, lighting, and computers, coupled with increase in electric use due to electric cars (just the start of that trend) leads to an interesting landscape when it comes to electric rates.
But our topic in this article is how to connect the recovery of the costs of serving water customers and reduce consumption by all customers.
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.