Retail risk management pricing electricity to manage customer risk
In the environment of direct customer access and supplier choice that is coming, experience teaches that customers will value the opportunity to control their price risk in a variety of ways. Suppliers that are sensitive to this desire and the varied ways of meeting it will have a distinct advantage. Large electricity customers are clearly awaiting the day the monopoly floodgates open because they believe cheap electricity from alternate suppliers will become available to them. But access and choice will mean more to utility retail customers than just the potential availability of low cost power. It will mean that customers will have the purchasing power to demand exactly what they want from their electricity provider. Some customers will want the lowest cost power available, which may mean that they purchase directly from the spot market. Others will want to use their new-found clout to purchase power of a certain guaranteed quality or reliability level, or to purchase on a pricing plan that fits their needs. For instance, business customers that sell goods under fixed price contracts may want to purchase electricity at a price that is fixed for a certain period - perhaps a quarter of a year. This article focuses on products that protect customers from the price risk they would face if they purchased directly from the spot market. First, it will address examples of products that are used to protect against price risk in the gas market, because these products indicate the type of offerings that may help electric customers manage price risks. Next, the article will highlight findings on desires of customers in the electricity market, and provide an overview of utility tariffs that can help customers control their price risk. Finally, it will discuss approaches that can be used to price these retail risk management products.
- OSTI ID:
- 543179
- Journal Information:
- Electricity Journal, Vol. 10, Issue 5; Other Information: PBD: Jun 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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