Tess O. from Shreveport here. I'm building Excel models to compare different rate schedules for our facilities and wondering if anyone has templates they'd be willing to share. I'm particularly struggling with modeling time-of-use rates with different seasonal periods and demand ratchets. Louisiana has some complex tariff structures that are giving me headaches. Would love to see how others approach this systematically.
Excel models for rate comparison - anyone willing to share templates?
Marcus W. in Norfolk. I've built several comparison models for Dominion Energy's various schedules. Key is setting up your load profile data first - 8760 hourly values if possible, or at least monthly peaks and energy usage. Then create separate worksheets for each rate schedule with all the components: customer charge, demand tiers, energy blocks, time periods. Happy to share structure concepts.
Tess, Randy here. Great question and Marcus is spot on about the load profile foundation. For ratchet provisions, I use a rolling 12-month maximum function that updates monthly. Time-of-use gets tricky with seasonal definitions - make sure you're using the exact date ranges from the tariff, not calendar seasons. I typically build a summary comparison table that shows annual costs, demand charges vs energy charges, and average rates per kWh and kW for easy comparison.
Steve B. from Tulsa here. Built models for OG&E and PSO rate comparisons. One tip - include a sensitivity analysis section where you can adjust load factors and see how it impacts the rate comparison. Sometimes a schedule that looks expensive at current usage becomes attractive with load growth or different operating patterns. Also model the monthly variations, not just annual averages.
Kira J. in Portland. For PGE and Pacific Power comparisons, I created dropdown menus to select different rate schedules and the calculations update automatically. The trick with complex TOU rates is creating a lookup table that maps each hour of the year to the correct rate period. Oregon has some weird holiday definitions that caught me off guard initially.
Gary W. from Tacoma jumping in. Puget Sound Energy has some interesting declining block structures that require careful modeling. I use nested IF statements to calculate energy charges across multiple blocks. Also don't forget about taxes - some are inside the meter charges, others are applied to the total bill. Makes a difference in true cost comparisons.
Earl J., also in Tacoma. Gary mentioned taxes - also watch for franchise fees and state utility taxes that vary by location even within the same utility territory. I've seen 3-4% differences in effective rates just based on city franchise agreements. Build these into your models as separate line items for accuracy.
Patty L. from Anchorage. Alaska rates are pretty straightforward compared to what you folks are dealing with, but I learned to include fuel surcharges as variable components tied to commodity indices when possible. Our Power Cost Equalization adjustments change quarterly and can swing final rates significantly. Might apply to your fuel adjustment clauses too.
This has been incredibly helpful everyone! I'm rebuilding my model with the load profile foundation Randy and Marcus suggested. The rolling ratchet function is exactly what I was missing. Steve's sensitivity analysis idea is brilliant - never thought about modeling different load factor scenarios. Thanks for all the practical tips.
Margaret C. from Indianapolis here. One more suggestion - validate your Excel models against actual bills when possible. I found errors in my demand charge calculations that only showed up when comparing to real billing data. Indianapolis Power & Light has some quirky rounding rules that weren't obvious from just reading the tariff.