Electricity Pricing

Book excerpt: As the advent of the Smart Grid revolutionizes how homeowners and businesses purchase and manage power, electricity pricing is becoming more complicated and intricate than ever before, while the need for more frequent rate revisions remains a primary issue in the field. A timely and accessible guide for the new industry environment, Electricity Pricing: Engineering Principles and Methodologies helps those involved in both the engineering and financial operations of electric power systems to "get the money right" while ensuring reliable electric service at a fair and reasonable cost. Explores both the business functions and engineering principles associated with electricity pricing Examining pricing approaches and opportunities, this book presents tools, viewpoints, and explanations that are generally not found in contemporary literature. It clarifies valuable analysis techniques, realistic examples, and unique lessons passed along from those inside the industry. This "how to do it" guide fosters a multidisciplinary understanding that integrates information, methodologies, and techniques from accounting, economics, engineering, finance, and marketing. Detail-oriented but still mindful of the big picture, this book examines the complex relationship between electricity, customers, and service providers in relation to pricing. Electricity Pricing also: Presents mathematical methods and techniques used to establish electricity prices, determine cost causation, and evaluate pricing structures and mechanisms Explores ways to translate and integrate cost elements into practical pricing structures Details how engineering concepts are used to apportion production, delivery, and associated costs to determine cost of service and to support all aspects of ratemaking strategy, design, analysis, and decision making This comprehensive professional reference addresses theory but remains grounded in no-nonsense practical applications. It is dually suited to introduce newcomers to the technical principles and methodologies of electricity pricing and provide veterans with a valuable consolidation of advanced tools for pricing analysis and problem solving. Watch an interview of the author at http://youtu.be/4fU8nkDVhNY