Consultants critique EPRI studies

Journal Article · Mon May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1978 · Electr. World; (United States)

OSTI ID:6263134

Comments on Ebasco's and the National Electric Reliability Council's work for the Electric Utility Rate Design Study and the report on Critical Issues in Costing Approaches for Time-Differentiated Rates prepared by Task Force 4 are summarized. Professor Walter A. Morton notes that Ebasco's studies are well done and can serve as a guide to utilities, commissions, and consumers...but that he belives that the study-plan assignment of finding the costs of producing a kWh...at different times of the day and years, and to design rates based on these costs...is impossible. Morton suggests that, rather than attempt to allocate costs to rating periods, utilities and regulators should establish such objectives as maximizing load factor or minimizing cost, and then set rates to attain these objectives. Ralph Turvey notes that NERA'S procedure for calculating marginal-capacity cost, based on the costs of peaking plants with the lowest utilization or plant factor, may not always be correct. Detailed critiques by Morton and Turvey are presented on the rate studies. Then concerning the report, Critical Issues in Costing Approaches for Time-Differentiated Rates, Task Force chairman Robert E. Ashburn of Long Island Lighting Co., says it does not propose a cookbook method for peak-load pricing, because no absolute decisions are made on specific details of fully allocated or incremental costs-of-service methods currently available. Recommendations are given for this report. Many of these reports were abstracted in Energy Abstracts for Policy Analysis, 1978. (MCW)

• OSTI ID: 6263134
• Journal Information: Electr. World; (United States), Journal Name: Electr. World; (United States) Vol. 189:9; ISSN ELWOA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
296000* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Electric Power
ALLOCATIONS
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ELECTRIC POWER
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
ENERGY MANAGEMENT
EPRI
LOAD MANAGEMENT
MANAGEMENT
MARGINAL-COST PRICING
PEAK-LOAD PRICING
POWER
POWER TRANSMISSION LINES
PRICES
PUBLIC UTILITIES
RATE STRUCTURE
REGULATIONS