Hey everyone, Manny G. here from Miami. I'm looking at a client's FPL bill and trying to figure out if they should be on Schedule GS-1 or GS-2. They're hitting about 45 kW demand consistently. The GS-1 has that $9.85 per kW demand charge but GS-2 shows $8.42 per kW with a higher customer charge. Anyone dealt with this crossover point recently?
Florida Power & Light Schedule GS-1 vs GS-2 Demand Charges - Need Help
Rob T. here from Jax. I've seen that exact situation with FPL. The breakeven is usually around 40-50 kW depending on usage patterns. Have you looked at their energy charges too? GS-2 has different tier structures that might offset the demand savings. What's their monthly kWh running?
Thanks Rob! They're averaging about 18,000 kWh per month. I found the tariff on FPL's website but having trouble parsing the energy block structure on GS-2. It looks like they have three tiers but the language is confusing around the "first 1000 kWh per kW of billing demand" part.
Randy here from Memphis. That FPL GS-2 language trips up a lot of folks. The "first 1000 kWh per kW" means if they have 45 kW demand, their first 45,000 kWh get the lowest tier rate. Since your client uses 18,000 kWh, they'd be entirely in that first block at about $0.0785 per kWh. Compare that to GS-1 which has declining blocks starting at 1,000 kWh then 20,000 kWh. You'll need to model both scenarios, but at 45 kW demand, GS-2 is likely better.
Randy, that makes perfect sense! I was reading it wrong thinking it was 1000 kWh total. So it's 1000 times the kW demand. That changes everything. Let me run the numbers again. Appreciate the clarification!
Donna C. from Harrisburg chiming in. We don't have FPL up here but similar structure with PPL. Always check for fuel adjustment clauses too - they can vary between rate schedules. FPL usually updates theirs monthly and sometimes the adjustment percentages differ between GS-1 and GS-2.
Good point Donna. I found the fuel clause riders - looks like both schedules use the same adjustment factor thankfully. Ran the numbers and you're right Randy, GS-2 saves them about $340 per month. Filing the rate schedule change request tomorrow. Thanks everyone!