cpaulgilman
commented
5 months ago This is a feature we would like to consider in the future, but are postponing for the following reasons:
- This approach does not appear to be widespread, although it may become more common in the future.
- SAM's electricity bill calculator does not account for future changes aside from the single escalation rate, for example we have received requests to allow for different rate structures for different years.
- SAM does not account for other sources of uncertainty in the future of electricity rates -- it assumes the rate structure does not change over the analysis period.
Fort Collins Utilities offers net billing for residential PV solar customers. Rates for 2024 are below. The rate is tiered and based on time of use.
The utility has indicated that the rates paid to residential customers for solar flowing into the grid will be fixed (for the foreseeable future) – while the rates paid by a residential customer (when buying electricity) are expected to increase 5% annually for the next several years.
In SAM – Can a separate escalator be placed on the “Sell” rates – or is there some other way to fix the payments that are expected to be received for energy provided to the grid over time? Note that the price paid for energy into the grid differs by season and by TOU.