Hey everyone, Beth H. from Jacksonville here. I'm trying to wrap my head around Florida Power & Light's Schedule GST-1 for general service customers. The demand charge structure has three different tiers but the way they word the "first 20 kW" versus "next 80 kW" is confusing me. Are these cumulative blocks or separate calculations? Client has a 150 kW peak demand last month and I want to make sure I'm calculating their potential savings correctly.
Florida FPL Schedule GST-1 demand charge tiers - anyone decode this mess?
Frank E. here from Cleveland. Those FPL tariffs are tricky but they're cumulative blocks Beth. So for your 150 kW customer you'd have: first 20 kW at the lowest tier rate, next 80 kW (21-100) at middle tier, and remaining 50 kW (101-150) at highest tier. Make sure you're also factoring in their fuel adjustment clause which changes monthly - that can swing bills significantly in Florida.
Randy Dawson here from Memphis. Frank's got it right on the cumulative structure. Beth, one thing to watch with FPL Schedule GST-1 is their seasonal demand variations - summer months June through September have higher demand charges. Also check if your client qualifies for any of their load management programs which can reduce demand charges. The Environmental Cost Recovery Clause and Nuclear Cost Recovery Clause are separate line items that get adjusted quarterly, so factor those into your analysis too. FPL posts all their current tariff sheets on their website under "Rates & Tariffs" section.
Vanessa P. from Austin chiming in. We deal with similar tiered demand structures here in Texas with Oncor. One tip I learned the hard way - always verify the effective date on the tariff sheet you're using. Had a client analysis completely wrong because I was using an outdated version that was superseded three months prior. The Texas PUC website has a good search function for current vs superseded tariffs.
Marcus from Charlotte here. For anyone doing multi-state comparisons, Duke Energy's Schedule SGS here in North Carolina uses a completely different demand structure than FPL. They have a single demand charge rate with no tiers, but they include a facilities charge that's based on contract demand rather than actual demand. Always read the fine print on how demand is measured - some utilities use 15-minute intervals, others use 30-minute.
Thanks everyone! Frank, that cumulative explanation makes perfect sense now. Randy, I found those quarterly adjustments you mentioned - the Environmental Cost Recovery is currently at $0.00123 per kWh which adds up on large accounts. Vanessa, great point on effective dates. I double-checked and I was indeed using the current tariff dated July 1st. This client could save about $1,200 monthly by shifting some load to off-peak hours under the TOU option.