Our Milwaukee office just hired two junior auditors and I'm struggling to explain demand charges effectively. They understand the kW vs kWh concept but get lost when we hit more complex tariffs like WE Energies' Cg-1 schedule with multiple demand periods. Any teaching tricks that have worked for you folks? I've tried the water flow analogy but it only goes so far when dealing with ratchet clauses and billing demand calculations.
Tips for teaching demand analysis to new hires?
Linda, I've had good luck using actual bills as teaching tools rather than hypotheticals. PG&E has some great examples of E-19 schedules where you can show the seasonal demand variations. I take a $50K annual account and walk them through each month, showing how a 15-minute spike in July can cost them $800 extra for the whole year. Makes it real for them pretty quick.
Dan's right about using real bills. I also create a simple Excel model that shows demand charges building month by month. For Xcel Energy territories, I use their A-11 schedule and plug in different scenarios - what happens if peak demand hits in June vs October, how ratchet clauses work with 80% minimums. The visual really helps them grasp why load management matters so much.
Here in Indianapolis with IPL, I start new auditors on simple GS-2 schedules before moving to the complex stuff. Basic coincident vs non-coincident demand first, then we tackle transmission charges and power factor penalties. Had one trainee who didn't understand why a 0.85 power factor was costing a client an extra $300/month until we did the math together.
These are all great suggestions. Greg, I think starting with simpler tariffs is key - I was throwing them into the deep end with our most complex accounts. Going to try the progressive approach and see how it works. Thanks everyone!
One more tip from Denver - I use Xcel's interval data viewer to show trainees exactly when demand peaks occur. Nothing beats seeing that 15-minute spike at 2:47 PM on a Tuesday that's going to cost them for 12 months. Makes load profiling discussions much more meaningful when they can visualize the data.
Carl raises a good point about interval data. Here in Missouri with Ameren, I've found that showing trainees how to read the demand graphs first, then working backward to the tariff language, helps them connect the dots. They see the spike, then understand why the utility structured the rates that way.
Elmer's got the right idea. PSO uses similar demand structures here in Tulsa. I always tell new auditors that understanding the why behind rate design makes them better analysts. When they grasp that utilities need to recover infrastructure costs somehow, the whole demand charge concept makes more sense than just memorizing formulas.