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Advanced metering infrastructures and the rapid expansion of distributed solar PV generation are providing both opportunities for innovation and challenges. Now more than ever, utility staff members and regulatory commissions should revisit their existing electricity rates for residential, commercial, and industrial customers, and ensure that they continue to effectively serve rate-making objectives. Reforming residential rates so that they more closely mimic the structure of marginal costs is generally required to take full advantage of advanced metering and communications, but also to induce economically efficient customer-owned generation investments, by signaling customers the net avoided cost of their solar production.

This NERA course, to be held in Los Angeles on 8-10 June 2015, will provide a review of sound pricing principles, an in-depth discussion of best practice methods to develop marginal cost estimates that vary by hour, time of day, and season, and the tools to undertake comprehensive retail rate analysis. Taught by NERA Vice President Amparo Nieto and by Affiliated Consultant Dr. Hethie Parmesano, the course will also provide students with an understanding of how alternative rate structures may be set to preserve efficiency, equity and fairness, cost recovery, and transparency objectives. The definition of appropriate customer classes and methods for class allocations of the utility revenue requirement will also be discussed.

To learn more about this NERA course, please view the materials in the right-hand column of this page.