Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Calculating impact of lifeline rates

Journal Article · · Public Power; (United States)
OSTI ID:7325154

A lifeline rate was made effective in Los Angeles on Nov. 9, 1975. The Los Angeles Lifeline allows a 50 percent discount on the first 180 kWh per customer per month of usage. The 180 kWh represents an estimate of reasonable, ''conservation-minded'' requirements for an elderly (62 and over), low-income (under $7,500 per year) family of two persons. Detailed calculations are made for eight categories of lifeline eligibility--first 200 and first 400 kWh discounted 50 percent for age and income, age only, income only, and all residential customers. On the basis of a 50 percent discount for the first 200 kWh, the 114,000 elderly and low-income residential customers would receive an overall average reduction in rates of 26.4 percent from the Lifeline provision, if the Lifeline Loss were to be recovered from all customer classes. All other customers would receive an overall average increase of 1.12 percent to make up the Lifeline loss. ''All other'' customers would include other-than-Lifeline residential customers (836,000) as well as commercial, industrial, etc. This Lifeline form shifts $5.6-million revenue from 114,000 Lifeline customers to all remaining customers. The opposite extreme to this would be 50 percent discount on the first 400 kWh to all residential customers with Lifeline loss again made up from all customer classes. Here the 950,000 Lifeline eligibles would receive an overall reduction in rates of 28.1 percent and all other customers' rates would be increased by 14.4 percent. ''All-Other'' customers here include all customer classes except residential. This Lifeline form shifts $49.7-million from the 950,000 residential customers, who are all Lifeline customers, to the ''other-than residential'' classes of customers. (MCW)

Research Organization:
Dept. of Water and Power, Los Angeles
OSTI ID:
7325154
Journal Information:
Public Power; (United States), Journal Name: Public Power; (United States) Vol. 34:2; ISSN PUPOA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English