Fidel Marquez, SVP, Government & External Affairs, ComEd

In this keynote address, renowned energy economist Ahmad Faruqui will discuss the reasons why many utilities are opting to make three-part rates the standard offering for all residential customers. The presentation will examine how moving to three-part rates can encourage better use of grid capacity, minimize cross-subsidies between customers, and foster adoption of advanced technologies.

Ahmad Faruqui, Principal, the Brattle Group

When it comes to the hotly-debated topic of demand charges, serious consideration is warranted by regulatory policy-makers facing this decision. The session will provide insights from a regulatory perspective on this rate design structure that many utilities are adopting or considering adopting.

Doug Scott, Vice President – Strategic Initiatives, Great Plains Institute (Former Chair, Illinois Commerce Commission)

This segment will explore the case for residential demand charges when it comes to addressing the infrastructure cost recovery.  It will also review the experience with residential demand charges in the U.S. and discuss alternative formulations for demand charges and merits of each option.  In addition, it will review various stakeholder concerns and make recommendations on specific initiatives that will help advance the debate on residential demand charges, while addressing the concerns of stakeholders.

Sanem Sergici, Principal, The Brattle Group

In utility rate structure paradigms, important correlations exist between net energy metering and residential demand charges. In this session, Paul Hibbard (former Massachusetts DPU Chair) will explore the connections and why they’re important, as they relate to:

• The original intent of NEM
• Addressing NEM cross-subsidies between different customer classes
• Should net-metering customers be under a separate rate
• Time differentiated charges for solar customers

Todd Schatzki, Vice President, Analysis Group, Inc.

Residential demand charges – particularly for solar customers – are receiving more attention from utilities and regulators. This session will discuss where residential demand charges, as well as fixed charge increases and net metering changes, have been proposed recently, provide detail on some key demand charge proposals, and discuss the interaction between net metering and demand charges.

Brian Lips, DSIRE Project Manager/ North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center

In this session, Scott Vogt will provide a description of Commonwealth Edison’s (ComEd) Next Generation Energy Plan. Mr. Vogt will describe the
current design in place for their customers, discuss ComEd’s proposed rate design proposal and provide an analysis of how different customers
would be impacted with no changes in their behavior. Furthermore, ComEd’s solar rebate program and its impacts on solar customers will also be discussed.

Scott Vogt, Vice President – Energy Acquisition, Commonwealth Edison (ComEd)

In 2015, UNS Electric in Arizona filed a rate case that included residential demand charge proposals. Dan Hansen will describe the various twists and turns that took place over the course of the proceedings. He will describe the positions of the key stakeholders and how those positions changed over time. It is both an interesting story on its own and reveals some of the issues that utilities can expect to encounter if they propose residential demand charges.

Daniel G. Hansen, Vice President, Christensen Associates Energy Consulting

This session will illustrate the development of multi-part (including demand charges), time-differentiated pricing for residential and small commercial customers as implemented by Duke Energy.  It will also explore possible improvements in matching individual customer revenues to the cost of serving these customers afforded by such designs.  Emphasis will be placed on explaining the designs to intervening parties and regulators.

Jeff Bailey, Director – Pricing and Analysis, Duke Energy

This group of industry experts will bring to bear their years of experience in utility rate design to weigh the opportunities and constraints associated with pursuing the concept of a residential demand charge. The panelists will discuss why demand charges may make perfect sense for some utilities but not for others.

Moderator: Ahmad Faruqui, Principal, the Brattle Group

Panelists:

Doug Scott, Vice President – Strategic Initiatives, Great Plains Institute (Former Chair, Illinois Commerce Commission)

Paul Hibbard, Vice President, Analysis Group (Former Chair, Massachusetts Dept. Public Utilities)

Jeff Bailey, Director – Pricing and Analysis, Duke Energy

Bill Brayden, President, Brayden Automation

Leland R. Snook, Director – Rates & Rate Strategy, Arizona Public Service, (APS)

Residential time-of-use demand rates have been an effective tool in encouraging APS customers to reduce their peak demand during the on-peak period for many years. The utility industry continues to evolve and demand rates have become an increasingly important means of stimulating innovation and helping customers conserve energy. Grid modernization requires a modern approach to pricing – APS’s customer experience dispels the myths surrounding residential rate reform.

Leland R. Snook, Director – Rates & Rate Strategy, Arizona Public Service, (APS)

Drawing from the recent paper of the same name, this presentation will unpack key elements of demand charges and explore their effect on fairness, efficiency, customer acceptability and the certainty of utility cost recovery. The paper found that most applications of demand charges for small customers perform poorly in all categories.

The presentation will also analyze the demand charge proposal introduced in Illinois as part of SB1585 and the reaction to the proposal among advocates and lawmakers.

Abe Scarr, Director, Illinois Public Interest Research Group (PIRG)

The Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative’s (SGCC) research has shown that consumer engagement is a key driver for the success of energy efficiency, demand response and other programs offered by many utilities. Yet, many utilities struggle with effectively engaging consumers.  The key to effective engagement lies in understanding consumers’ attitudes and motivations, and in understanding that consumers are not monolithic. This presentation will cover what is known about consumer attitudes based on interviews with more than 7,000 U.S. residential consumers, along with factors that motivate consumer engagement.

• What do consumers know and what do they care about?
• Where consumer engagement matters
• Who is out there? Introducing SGCC segments (based on SGCC Consumer Pulse studies)
• Tying it all together with segmentation
• Protecting low income and senior citizens

Patty Durand, President & CEO, Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC)

There’s been a great deal of discussion lately about residential demand rates, as utilities grapple with finding a solution to fixed cost recovery for DER’s. While the DER piece is new, residential demand rates are not. Since the early 1970’s, about 30 electric utilities in the US (out of an approximate 3200) have now, or have had in the past, residential demand rates. There are multiple examples of past and existing residential demand rates that are attractive to residential customers and some that are not. In this session, Bill Brayden, an expert on residential demand control, will share his “Top 10” List of things that he has learned working with residential customers for the last 38 years helping them control their peak demands. These examples are from the customer’s perspective about what makes a good demand rate.  He will also give a very quick view of where he thinks demand rates and demand control are going now that AMI (advanced meter infrastructure) deployments have been implemented in many utilities.

Bill Brayden, President, Brayden Automation