June 2022 Utility Rates Newsletter

Here's what our team added in the last month:

Over 250 California investor-owned utility (IOU) rates were updated in the first two weeks of June, and this figure doesn’t even include all the Community Choice Aggregate (CCA) rates our team maintains. 

WEBINAR SERIES:
UTILITY RATES TRAINING SESSIONS
Thursday, June 30, 3 pm EST

​​​​​​We're hosting monthly training sessions on everything rates. Webinar topics include: 

• Utility rate structure/components
• ETB’s approach to creating a rate
• How to create your own rate in ETB Developer
• Billing examples and ETB’s tips and tricks
• Best practices for entering data into ETB Developer
• Net Metering 

REGISTERHERE

IMPORTANT MONTHLY UPDATES & ANNOUNCEMENTS

In addition to the typical annual changes seen in January, many large utilities tend to implement mid-year rate adjustments during the summer season. June is a common month for California utilities to update, and this June was no exception. We highlight a few of the key changes instilled by the California IOUs, describe the new credit customers that Illinois utility Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) will see, and announce an increase in our platform’s functionality with recent updates to our Real-Time Pricing (RTP) charge type. 

California updates

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and Southern California Edison (SCE) updates were insignificant, with minor changes to the distribution charges. On the other hand, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) made considerable changes. The most noteworthy update was the on-peak demand charge for commercial rates such as AL-TOU and A6-TOU, both of which increased by approximately $3 per kilowatt (kW). The Electric Energy Commodity Costs (EECC) decreased across all rate schedules, and when paired with slight increases to the distribution charges, the total electric charge for most SDG&E rates saw an overall reduction.  

Our users can find confidence in knowing that ETB’s in-house Data Team ensures that our database is accurately updated using the most up-to-date rate tariffs and by confirming any questions or concerns directly with the associated utility.  

Rate reduction for ComEd customers

Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) recently implemented a new rate rider, the Carbon-Free Resource Adjustment (CFRA). The CRFA was passed in association with the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, which created the Carbon Mitigation Credit Program that helps keep carbon-free, nuclear generation facilities operational in Illinois until other forms of clean energy can be utilized. This program is part of Illinois’s transition to cleaner energy sources, with the goal of being completely carbon-free by the year 2050. ComEd customers can also expect this program to help them avoid paying high wholesale energy costs during periods of supply shortages.  

This adjustment is a hefty credit of -$0.03573 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) during the winter and -$0.04306/kwh during the summer and will remain in effect for the foreseeable future. This credit is also applicable to ComEd customers whose energy is supplied by a third-party. Due to this significant credit, ETB Developer users will notice a difference when utilizing the most effective ComEd rates and comparing bill totals to older billings.  ​​

Utility Rates FAQ Video: 

How are customer requests for multiple meters on the same bill handled?

Did you know? - We recently updated our Real-Time Pricing Charge Type

Within the ETB Developer platform, there are several energy charge types users can choose from when creating custom rates: Flat, Tiered, time-of-use (TOU), and Real-Time Pricing (RTP).  Recent updates have increased the functionality of the RTP option to better handle fluctuating charges. Previously, variable charges that changed monthly, daily, or hourly were managed by calculating and applying averages. In other cases, only the most recently available charges could be used. With the recent update, our RTP charge type will now more accurately account for these fluctuations by including all figures inputted for the past year.  

Users can expect to see this feature applied to global rates that include adjustments that fluctuate monthly, such as those found with Tennessee utilities affected by the TVA Fuel Cost Adjustment, and Canadian utilities affected by the Global Adjustment. The RTP charge type will also enable our team to include daily variable charges into rates, like those found in New York State Electric & Gas’ supply charges. The ETB engineering team is continuously working on platform updates that improve functionality and increase capabilities. We highly recommend subscribing to our monthly newsletters, checking out the ETB blog, and connecting with us on LinkedIn and other social media outlets to stay up to date on platform modifications and all things solar and energy storage.