Understanding
electric utility rates and the changes created through renewable energy, distributed generation and demand response can be confusing. New technology and regulations are changing the way that electric rates are determined and can have a significant impact on consumers.
Master the fundamentals of energy rate-making and learn the impact of new electric generation technology and the ways that the rate making process treats the alternatives to traditional utility generation. Gain an understanding of the differences between regulated and unregulated businesses with this comprehensive course. This is a "must" seminar for anyone who is new to the utility industry or who is impacted by the utility rate-making process.
The economic challenges of net metering, distributed energy resources, load management, and demand response are forcing utilities to change how they operate. Distributed generation is now a challenge to electric utilities as many small-scale projects can provide grid instability, more uncertainty, and potentially additional costs. The rate impact of these changes will be reviewed in understandable terms.
What You Will Learn
- Plain English explanations of numerous electric regulatory terms and concepts, and how the federal and state rate-making process works.
- How electric rate-making practices vary between investor owned utilities, municipal utilities, coops, and how these rate practices impact unregulated energy marketers.
- The jargon used in the regulatory process, so that you can understand each step of a rate case.
- Why utilities file rate cases and the types of analyses they conduct to support their proposals.
- The difference between cost of service and market-based pricing, and how these rates are applied.
- What the different cost components of the base rate case are, and how they are determined.
- The financial drivers for regulated utilities and how they differ from unregulated businesses
- How to improve utility profitability through the rate-making process.
- How different types of pricing structures are designed within rate proceedings
- The present state of commercialization of Distributed Generation resources
- How renewable energy fits into the utility generation mix
- Examples of viable projects
- Reviewing the cost curves for distributed energy resources and what that means to utility planners
- The shifting of capital costs from utilities to alternative electric providers.
- Where Combined Heat and Power (CHP) makes sense
You Will Also Learn
- The specifics of various electric rate structures; how to read a tariff; and how to analyze an electric bill.
- What rate structures benefit customers and suppliers, and when.
- How rate structures are designed and applied in deregulated environments.
- How to calculate comparisons between regulated and deregulated supply procurement.
- How distributed generation, renewables, energy storage & utilities can work together.
- How Distributed Energy can disrupt traditional utility planning and supplement existing utility assets.
- The economic tradeoffs in building or not building new power stations or transmission lines.
- How the utility copes with multiple challenges of increased volatility from multiple generation sources along with mandated reductions in emissions.
- How is renewable energy development impacting the stability, power quality and reliability of the grid system.
- How do Demand Response and Energy Efficiency programs fit into the new grid structure.
- What state level initiatives are pushing distributed generation, renewables and energy storage.
Your Instructor
Jim Crist
Jim Crist is President of Lumen Group, Inc. headquartered in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. He has over 27 years experience in the energy industry covering coal, gas, oil, propane, and electricity. Jim has conducted many strategic studies of the industry and prepared market and business assessments for several large energy companies. Before founding Lumen Group in 1996, Jim spent 20 years working for major energy companies in engineering, technology development, rate and regulatory policy development and marketing. He served as marketing vice president in both regulated and deregulated entities. His consulting practice provides strategic planning, marketing and business development, and rate and regulatory consulting, along with serving as an expert witness in regulatory proceedings in several jurisdictions.
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Seminar Agenda
Day One (Morning - 4 hours):- Conduct a thorough review of the electric utility industry from a regulatory perspective.
- Review various generation technologies used in distributed generation
- Cover renewable technology and the changes underway
- Discuss the major regulatory changes that created the energy marketplace of today.
- Review the fundamental concepts of electric rates and rate-making in detail.
- Explain how rate base and rate of return are determined.
- Discuss how items are categorized as operating expenses or capital expenses.
- Explain the federal and state rate case processes involved for both base rate increases and fuel adjustments.
- Discuss the various rationales used to request changes in electric rates.
Day One (Afternoon - 4 hours):- Review the current problems encountered when implementing today's open-access markets.
- Examine the important issues that create friction between utilities and distributed generators.
- Debate the merits of significant issues contained within the case study using the active participation of class participants.
- Interpret a variety of electric tariffs to become proficient in bill analyses techniques.
- Illustrate how the economics of rate design is applied in competitive energy markets.
Day Two (4 hours):- What is the impact of the changes to the traditional utility model?
- Conduct several bill analyses with both gas and electric bills for residential, commercial, and industrial customer groups.
- Illustrate the differences between various electric rate tariffs using case studies of different bill applications.
- Conduct an electric case study exercise that addresses specific issues selected by the class.
- Apply case study results and lessons to real-life situations.
- Continue with the bill and tariff analysis using actual bill examples and situations selected from the class participants which have been submitted in advance.
- Review several additional examples of increasing rate-making complexity as time allows.
- Produce comparative analysis of bundled and unbundled rates using current electric pricing examples.
Venue
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Who Should Attend this Seminar
Utility analysts, utility employees involved in legal, accounting, regulatory, engineering, operations, customer service, sales, or marketing, Utility commission employees, industrial customers, commercial customers, Energy producers, utilities, electric generators, and marketers; energy and electric power executives; traders; marketing, sales, purchasing & risk management personnel; accountants; trading support staff; auditors; attorneys; government regulators; plant operators; engineers and corporate planners.
Prerequisites and Advance PreparationThis fundamental level group live seminar has no prerequisites. No advance preparation is required before the seminar.
Program LevelBasic level. This fundamental course begins with basic material and then proceeds to the intermediate level.
Delivery MethodGroup-live.
Hotel and Seminar Information
This two-day seminar will be held at the hotels listed below or can be conducted on-site at your facilities. The seminar will start promptly at 8:00 AM and will finish at 4:00 PM on the first day. On the second day, the seminar will resume at 8:00 AM and will finish at 12:00 PM (noon). The program includes continental breakfast, lunch, for day one and a continental breakfast and coffee break for day two. Attendees also receive a professionally produced seminar manual that can serve as a valuable office reference. Dress is casual for all seminars.
Chancellor Hotel on Union Square433 Powell Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
Telephone: 415-362-2004
View Seminar Location WebsiteBecause of the diversity of hotels found in the area, we will not be holding a block of sleeping rooms with one particular hotel.
