October 2022 Utility Rates Newsletter

IMPORTANT MONTHLY UPDATES & ANNOUNCEMENTS

In this month’s newsletter, we highlight the continuing effect high gas prices have on electric rates, break down a commercial Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) bill, and more!

NV Energy Rate Increase

NV Energy, the largest electric provider in Nevada, implemented a rate increase this month due to the rising cost of natural gas. The increase involves several individual rate components, including the Base Tariff Energy Rate (BTER), Deferred Energy Accounting Adjustment (DEAA), and Energy Efficiency (EE) rider. The total per kilowatt-hour (kWh) rate for most customers increased by an average of 15%; a typical single-family home customer can expect to pay an additional $10 on their next bill.

This electricity price increase also increases the compensation rate solar net energy metering (NEM) customers receive for exported energy. NV Energy’s NMR-405 Tier 4 program is the current plan for all newly installed rooftop solar systems of 25 kilowatts (kW) or less. Customers under this tariff are compensated for excess energy at a rate that is 75% of the retail volumetric electricity rate. For example, with the October update, commercial solar customers under the General Service (GS-1) rate schedule went from $(0.07335)/kWh to $(0.07964)/kWh, which amounts to an 8% increase. Other rate schedules also saw a 7-8% increase in the NEM Tier 4 excess energy compensation rate.

Updated values are listed withinNV Energy’s most recent bill insert.

Xcel Energy - Colorado Rate Increase

Xcel Energy – Colorado updated several rate adjustments this month.  The startling rise of wholesale natural gas prices affects the cost of generating electricity, which affects the price passed to consumers. In August, Xcel Energy implemented the “Extraordinary Gas Cost Recovery Rider,” adding $2.39 per 1000 kWh for residential customers and $4.53 per 1000 kWh for all other rate classes. Customer charges continue to rise with several updates over the last few years, and further plans to do the same in the upcoming years.

The most notable rate change Xcel Energy implemented this month was an increase to the Electric Commodity Adjustment, another volumetric rate component. With an increase of about 15.5% across all rate classes, the increase of the Electric Commodity Adjustment equates to, on average, a bill increase of roughly $5.40 per 1000 kWh used.

The Colorado Public Utility Commission publishes a quarterly Customer Impact Study calculating an estimated amount by which bills will go up or down. The rates in our ETB Developer platform can serve the exact same purpose. The global rates in our database have been updated to reflect all the newly approved adjustments and are readily available for users to incorporate within proposals. 

Did You Know? - There's a difference between PG&E's B19S and B19 Option S

We regularly receive requests to update or create custom rates for Pacific Gas & Electric’s B19 rate due to a common point of confusion when reviewing a PG&E bill. Service under the B19 rate can be taken at secondary (S), primary (P), or transmission (T) voltage levels; customers also have the ability to select service under the “storage-friendly” Option S or renewable distributed generation Option R. This multitude of rate variations tends to cause uncertainty when trying to interpret the abbreviations found on a B-19 electric bill.

Take the following rate name from a bill, for example, B19S Bus Med-High Use. The “S” in this case is often confused for B-19’s Option S, which stands for secondary voltage. The letter following the rate name listed on a bill refers to the voltage type. Any additional abbreviations indicate that the customer is not under the standard B-19 rate (e.g., “B19T S” signifies transmission voltage and rate Option S).

Our ETB Developer rates database has all B-19 rate alternatives readily available, with “Option S” and “Option R” within the rate name and the voltage types listed as a rate attribute.