Canadian utilities share some current retail rate design issues with their neighbors to the south but also have some homegrown concerns. Low-cost Canadian utilities are struggling with the challenge of serving potentially large new customers at competitive prices while still recovering significant new fixed costs. More generally, promotion of renewables, energy storage, customer site generation and energy efficiency point to future cost increases. How should utilities blend cost recovery with price efficiency?

This symposium will review these issues and explore techniques employed by modern rate designers for improving both fixed cost recovery and price efficiency. Experts will discuss how pricing that makes use of modern metering, including residential demand charges and various forms of time-varying pricing can be used to meet these challenges. Meet your peers in Calgary and participate in stimulating discussions targeting the most pressing rate design challenges of Canada’s utilities, regulators, and industry stakeholders.

Learning Outcomes

• Discuss the rate design challenges of accommodating distributed energy
• Evaluate how to balance the cost of transmission additions
• Explain progressive service and product offerings for the retail electricity market
• Explain why there needs to be a suite of ratemaking options for large customers
• Hear regulatory perspectives on various rate design issues and structures
• Discuss the potential unintended consequences of certain rate designs
• Discuss the pricing challenges that can arise in serving innovative customers

Credits

EUCI has been accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET).  In obtaining this accreditation, EUCI has demonstrated that it  complies with the ANSI/IACET Standard which is recognized internationally as a standard of good practice. As a result of their Authorized Provider status, EUCI is authorized to offer IACET CEUs for its programs that qualify under the ANSI/IACET Standard.

EUCI is authorized by IACET to offer 0.9 CEUs for this event and 0.3 CEUs for the workshop.

 

Requirements for Successful Completion of Program

Participants must sign in/out each day and be in attendance for the entirety of the course to be eligible for continuing education credit.

Instructional Methods

Case Studies, Panel Discussions and PowerPoint presentations

Monday, June 24, 2019

12:30 – 1:00 p.m. :: Registration

1:00 – 1:15 p.m. :: Welcome Announcements

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1:15 – 1:35 p.m. :: Welcome Address

On behalf of ENMAX, Andrew Barrett will welcome conference attendees to the great city of Calgary and provide an overview of the company including how ENMAX addresses rate design in these constantly changing times.

Andrew Barrett, Vice President, Regulatory Applications, ENMAX

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1:35 – 5:00 p.m. :: Session I: Large Customer Rates

3:00 – 3:30 p.m. :: Networking Break

Session I Overview:

Some Canadian utilities are facing issues associated with the arrival of large, new customers. Data centres, marijuana grow-houses, etc. can be sizeable and mobile, posing challenges of generation pricing and cost recovery as well as conventional challenges of connection. More generally, customers may have competitive alternatives that compel a utility to explore ways to offer pricing that meets marginal cost standards but that departs from embedded cost pricing. How should utilities design rates and contracts to secure required revenues but offer efficient, competitive prices for generation services? How should they structure contracts to recover possibly significant new transmission costs? This session will review these issues and explore current and possible approaches to large-customer pricing.

 

Balancing the Cost of Transmission Additions between Existing and New Customers

Kevin Fagan, Director, Regulatory Affairs, Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro

 

Applying Bonbright Principles to Various Rate Design Structures and Emerging Issues

Jackie Ashley, Senior Regulatory Analyst, British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC)

 

Market Reference-Priced Rate Designs at BC Hydro

David Keir, Manager Transmission Rates, BC Hydro

 

Panel Discussion: Large Customer Rates Recap

This panel discussion will allow symposium attendees to ask specific questions of the presenters for discussion related to the large customer rate design session.

Kevin Fagan, Director, Regulatory Affairs, Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro

Jackie Ashley, Senior Regulatory Analyst, British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC)

David Keir, Manager Transmission Rates, BC Hydro

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Tuesday, June 25, 2019

8:00 – 8:30 a.m. :: Continental Breakfast

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8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. :: Session II: Mass Market Rates

10:00 – 10:30 a.m. :: Networking Break

Session II Overview:

Rate design for residential and small business customer classes has been limited by metering and billing constraints. With increases in advanced metering capability and customer sophistication – distributed energy resources (DERs), electric vehicle ownership, preferences for green power, and automated energy management – it is important for providers to update their rates. But what initiatives fit best? Is net metering appropriate or are there alternatives? To what extent should time variation in pricing be introduced? How should electric vehicle charging be priced? This session will review how utilities are meeting these challenges and the alternatives that are being explored.

 

Progressive Service and Product Offerings for the Retail Electricity Market

Ned Ross, Governmental Affairs, Direct Energy

 

Pricing to Reduce Emerging Revenue Risk of Small-Customer Classes

Wesley Manfro, Regulatory Analyst, ENMAX

 

Residential Usage Changes in Response to Time-Varying Rates

Dan Hansen, Vice President, Christensen Associates Energy Consultants, Inc.

 

Panel Discussion: Mass Market Rates Recap

This panel discussion will allow symposium attendees to ask specific questions of the presenters for discussion related to the mass market rate design session

Ned Ross, Governmental Affairs, Direct Energy

Joyce Cui, Manager, Regulatory Applications, ENMAX

Dan Hansen, Vice President, Christensen Associates Energy Consultants, Inc.

12:00 – 1:00 p.m. :: Group Luncheon

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1:00 – 4:30 p.m. :: Session III: “Hot Topics” in Rate Design

2:30 – 3:00 p.m. :: Networking Break

Session III Overview:

This session will focus on emerging challenges in ratemaking that are not in the mainstream. We will review an innovative electric vehicle charging design, a new comprehensive renewable energy plan designed to replace the piecemeal efforts of past years, and the neglected topic of standby pricing. This session will also be devoted to pricing challenges that can arise in accommodating innovative customers. A panel discussion reviewing innovative strategies will close this session and the conference.

Innovative Pricing with Xcel Energy’s Enhanced Renewables Connect Program

Nick Paluck, Rate Consultant, Xcel Energy

 

Hydro-Québec’s Experiment in Pricing Electricity for EV Charging Stations

Emmanuelle Fortin, Rates Counselor, Hydro-Québec

 

Whither Standby Rate Design? Canadian and U.S. Examples

Bruce Chapman, Vice President, Christensen Associates Energy Consultants, Inc.

 

Panel Discussion: Hot Topics Recap

This panel discussion will allow symposium attendees to ask specific questions of the presenters for discussion related to the hot topics in rate design session.

Nick Paluck, Rate Consultant, Xcel Energy

Emmanuelle Fortin, Rates Counselor, Hydro-Québec

Bruce Chapman, Vice President, Christensen Associates Energy Consultants, Inc.

4:30 p.m. :: Conference Concludes

Retail Pricing: Costing and Pricing Tools for Contemporary Challenges

Monday, June 24, 2019

8:00 – 8:30 a.m. :: Registration & Continental Breakfast

8:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. :: Workshop Timing

Overview

This workshop is designed to help prepare conference attendees for informed understanding of the presentations. This session will review costing and pricing principles and practices that underpin current ratemaking challenges. It will compare embedded and marginal costing, identifying their uses and limitations as the basis for rate design activities. In the workshop we will review how traditional rate designs build on costing methods and how their shortcomings can be revealed by contemporary rate design issues. The principles and practices of innovative rate designs will provide insights into how those ratemaking challenges can be met. For those new to rate design or who work in areas that would benefit from a better understanding of ratemaking, this workshop will provide participants with the basis for a productive symposium and more informed work upon returning home.

Learning Outcomes

• Acquire the basic tools of costing and pricing
• Review traditional embedded and current marginal costing principles that are the basis for ratemaking
• Discuss traditional ratemaking principles and practices, and then explore the innovative rate structures that serve most business customers today
• Discuss the basics of other pricing challenges likely to emerge in the conference that follows this workshop

Agenda

1. Ratemaking: the mundane vs. the revolutionary
2. Embedded costs: sharing the burden equitably
3. Marginal costs: expanding the cost basis for pricing
4. Rate objectives and rate structures: balancing tradeoffs
5. Using new designs to meet contemporary challenges

Instructor

Bruce R. Chapman, Vice President, Christensen Associates Energy Consulting

Mr. Chapman is a Vice President at Christensen Associates Energy Consulting. He assists clients in the electricity and natural gas industries to improve their costing and pricing capabilities. Mr. Chapman advises clients in such areas of expertise as: cost-of-service analysis and rate design based upon both established regulatory and market-based principles; innovative rate design including demand response products, renewables pricing, fixed billing, and other market-based retail pricing products; load forecasting and load research analysis. Additionally, he has supervised the development of software required for the implementation and support of innovative retail products.

Jackie Ashley, Senior Regulatory Analyst, British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC)

Andrew Barrett, Vice President, Regulatory Applications, ENMAX

Bruce Chapman, Vice President, Christensen Associates Energy Consultants, Inc.

Joyce Cui, Manager, Regulatory Applications, ENMAX

Kevin Fagan, Director, Regulatory Affairs, Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro

Emmanuelle Fortin, Rates Counselor, Hydro-Québec

Dan Hansen, Vice President, Christensen Associates Energy Consultants, Inc.

David Keir, Manager Transmission Rates, BC Hydro

Wesley Manfro, Regulatory Analyst, ENMAX

Nick Paluck, Rate Consultant, Xcel Energy

Ned Ross, Governmental Affairs, Direct Energy

 

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