Demand Ratchet Analysis - Best Practices?

Working on a Duke Energy account with some complex demand ratchet provisions. The customer has seasonal operations (ice cream manufacturer) so their summer peaks are way higher than winter usage.

Tariff says ratchet is 75% of highest demand in previous 12 months. But there's some language about "weather-adjusted" calculations that I can't make sense of. Anyone dealt with this before?

Karen, that's exactly what I was hoping to hear! Did you submit that as a formal dispute or work through their customer service? And do you happen to have any templates for that kind of operational analysis?

We went through their Large Customer Services department first. Had to escalate to a formal complaint eventually, but they settled before it went to the PSC.

I can share some guidance on the operational analysis - shoot me a PM with your email. The key is showing business necessity and that demand management isn't technically feasible without major process changes.

Christine, I've seen similar language with Duke. The weather adjustment typically applies to heating/cooling related loads, not process loads like ice cream manufacturing.

You might be able to argue that their seasonal variation is process-related and shouldn't be subject to the full ratchet. Have you looked at Schedule GS-3 provisions?

I had a similar case with a seasonal manufacturer. Key was documenting the operational necessity of the demand variation. We prepared a detailed analysis showing the process couldn't be modified to flatten the load profile.

Duke ended up agreeing to a modified ratchet calculation. Saved the client about $8,000 annually.