Josh M. from Lansing. I'm working on a TOU rate analysis for a client with Consumers Energy and manually calculating peak vs off-peak hours is killing me. Does anyone have an Excel template that handles different TOU periods and seasonal variations? The MI PSC tariff has summer/winter periods plus different weekend rates.
Time-of-Use rate comparison spreadsheet - anyone have a template?
Tim H. in Bismarck. I don't have a template but I've built similar models for different utilities. The key is setting up your hourly data with proper date functions so Excel can automatically categorize peak vs off-peak based on time and season. Happy to share some formulas if that helps.
Duane K. from Bend, Oregon. I actually built a pretty comprehensive TOU calculator last year for Pacific Power's Schedule 48 analysis. It handles multiple seasons, weekend rates, and even holiday adjustments. Would be happy to share it if you can adapt it to Michigan rate structures.
Duane, that would be amazing! Even if the rate structure is different, having the framework would save me hours. Tim, I'd definitely appreciate seeing your formulas too. I'm comfortable with Excel but the date/time logic for TOU periods is new territory for me.
Randy Dawson here. This is a great collaboration - TOU modeling is something a lot of our members struggle with. Josh, one thing to watch with Consumers Energy is their demand charge calculation during peak periods. It's not just about energy rates, the demand component can make or break the savings. Duane, if you're willing to share that template, I'd be happy to post it in our resources section so other members can benefit.
Randy, absolutely - I'll clean up the template and send it your way. Josh, the Oregon model has tabs for interval data import, TOU period definitions, rate calculations, and comparison charts. Should be pretty adaptable.
Here are the key formulas I use for TOU period identification: =IF(AND(HOUR(A2)>=13,HOUR(A2)<=18,WEEKDAY(A2,2)<=5),"Peak","Off-Peak") for basic peak hours, then nest additional IF statements for seasonal variations. You'll need to modify the hour ranges for Michigan obviously.
Patty L. from Anchorage jumping in. We don't have TOU rates up here but I use similar Excel logic for demand analysis. One tip - use pivot tables to summarize your hourly data once you've categorized the periods. Makes it much easier to spot usage patterns and potential savings opportunities.
Update: Got Duane's template and Tim's formulas working perfectly! The analysis showed my client could save about $340/month by shifting some equipment runtime to off-peak hours. Thanks everyone - this forum is incredibly valuable.