Kevin D. here in Louisville. I'm reviewing Duke Energy Kentucky's Rate Schedule TODS (Time of Day Secondary) for a manufacturing client and I'm seeing what looks like a secondary demand charge buried in Section 3.2.1 of their tariff. Has anyone else caught this? It's not clearly labeled as a demand charge but it's calculated on peak kW usage during summer months. Client got hit with an extra $847 last month that doesn't match my Excel model.
Duke Energy Kentucky Rate Schedule TODS - Hidden Demand Charges?
Randy Dawson here. Kevin, you're absolutely right to flag that. Duke Energy KY has been notorious for embedding demand-related charges in their rate schedules without clear labeling. The TODS tariff has what they call a "Peak Period Capacity Charge" in Section 3.2.1 which is essentially a demand charge calculated on your highest 15-minute interval during their defined peak hours (1 PM to 6 PM, June through September). Many consultants miss this because it's not in the standard demand charge section. I'd recommend pulling the tariff effective date - they revised TODS in March 2024 and added more complexity. Did you check if your client qualifies for Rate Schedule TODP instead? That might be cleaner for manufacturing loads.
Jack P. from Louisville as well. I've dealt with Duke KY's confusing tariff language for years. That "Peak Period Capacity Charge" Randy mentioned is a real gotcha - I've seen it catch consultants off guard because Duke buries it in the middle of their rate structure section rather than grouping it with other demand charges. The key is looking at the actual bill calculation worksheet they provide, not just the summary tariff sheet. Kevin, if you need the current effective tariff pages, I have them saved as PDFs from the Kentucky PSC website.
Paula W. in Nashville here. We see similar issues with NES tariffs in Tennessee - utilities love to hide charges in subsections. Kevin, make sure you're also checking for any fuel adjustment clauses that might be hitting your client. Duke typically updates those monthly and they can add significant cost on top of base rates and demand charges.