National Regulatory Research Institute - How to Persuade Customers to Use Energy More Efficiently

How to Persuade Customers to Use Energy More Efficiently:
The Pros and Cons of Potential Rate Design Options

Thursday, February 11, 2010
2-3:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Last year, the federal government approved $3.4 billion in grants for 100 “smart grid” projects. Most of these projects include the deployment of advanced meters, making it easier for utilities to implement a wide range of efficiency-inducing rates (EIRs) that can help consumers reduce their peak or total energy consumption and get the most out of smart grid investments.

EIRs can vary by time, condition, or customer behavior. When you align rates with electricity costs, you encourage your customers to use electricity when it costs less. EIRs have their own unique advantages, disadvantages, and design choices, so deciding which ones are right for your customers can be a challenge.

Find out how to design rates that promote energy efficiency when you register to attend the latest NRRI teleseminar, “How to Persuade Customers to Use Energy More Efficiently: The Pros and Cons of Potential Rate Design Options” on Thursday, February 11, 2010.

Listen as our experts present details on several rate design options and offer advice on how to design time-of-use and seasonal rates. You’ll also learn about the secondary consequences of rate designs, including their effects on different types of consumers and on renewable energy projects.

Who’s eligible for the rates you design? Are they mandatory? Can EIRs operate in conjunction with other EIRs? And what are the best ways to evaluate and propose EIRs?

Get answers to these questions, and more, when you register today for “How to Persuade Customers to Use Energy More Efficiently: The Pros and Cons of Potential Rate Design Options.”

And because you don’t make rate design decisions in a vacuum, you’ll also find out how various EIRs affect different customer classes and how they complement or detract from distributed renewable energy development.

Whether you’re with a commission whose utilities are using smart grid technologies, have state mandates to reduce carbon emissions or improve energy efficiency, are proposing new rate designs or considering an advanced metering infrastructure, or are a regulator who wants to learn more about providing rate-design outlines and reviewing utility proposals—this is one session you can’t afford to miss.

First, NRRI Research Analyst Adam Pollock will help you better understand the advantages and disadvantages of the various rates, as well as some of the design decisions you’ll need to make. Then Evgenia Shumilkina will show you how to develop seasonal and time-of-use rates, including peak periods and rates.

Here’s just some of what you’ll learn when you attend this in-depth, 90-minute teleseminar::

Gather your entire team around a speakerphone and together you can all take part in this fast-paced discussion. Best of all, you’ll be able to connect personally with the panelists when we open up the phone lines for live Q&A.

Teleseminar at a Glance
When		February 11, 2010 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. Eastern (11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Pacific)
Place		Your telephone or speakerphone
Cost		*Free to state commissions and NASUCA members* $129 nonprofit organizations (except for nonprofit organizations that represent for-profit entities) $229 (all others)
CLE Credit		Attendees apply for credit on their own. A timed agenda, table of contents, detailed course outline, presenter credentials, and certificate of attendance will be included in course materials.
To Register		Click here
Questions		Send email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Adam Pollock is a Research Analyst with the National Regulatory Research Institute (NRRI), where he works with state commissions and has authored a paper on FERC transmission incentives. Prior to his work at NRRI, Mr. Pollock provided electric and natural gas industry analysis for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in the Office of Administrative Litigation. He formulated staff positions, participated in settlement negotiations and hearings, and filed testimony. Mr. Pollock also worked as a policy analyst for the Reznick Group’s National Renewable Energy Practice, where he examined public policy, regulatory, and utility issues. He received a B.A. magna cum laude in economics and government from Connecticut College and a Master of Public Policy degree from Georgetown University with a concentration in Environmental and Regulatory Policy.

Evgenia Shumilkina is a Research Analyst at the National Regulatory Research Institute (NRRI), where she conducts research on the electric industry. She is finishing her Ph.D. in economics at Northeastern University. Most of her focus during her studies has been on regulation, antitrust, and electricity. Part One of her Ph.D. dissertation—on the effects of mergers in eliminating potential competition—has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Industrial Economics. In addition to her dissertation work, she has also worked on other projects relating to changes in the electric industry, including projects with the American Public Power Association and the American Antitrust Institute. She received a bachelor’s degree in economics from St. Petersburg State University, Russia.

William B. Marcus has been Principal Economist with JBS Energy, Inc. since 1984. He is the company’s lead economist for utility issues and has 29 years of experience analyzing electric and gas utilities. Prior to joining JBS, Mr. Marcus was principal economist at California Hydro Systems, Inc., an alternative energy consulting and development company. He prepared financial analyses of projects, negotiated utility contracts, and provided consulting services on utility economics. Prior to that, he was an economist at the CEC, first in the energy development division and later as a senior economist in CEC’s executive office. While at the CEC, he prepared testimony on purchased power pricing and ran economic studies of transmission projects, renewable resources, and conservation programs. He also managed interventions in utility rate cases. Mr. Marcus has served on several local government advisory committees, including a 1991-92 SMUD Rate Advisory Committee, which recommended cost-allocation and rate-design changes to the SMUD board. Mr. Marcus is co-author of a book on electric restructuring, written for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. He has testified on issues such as utility restructuring, stranded costs, performance-based ratemaking, resource planning, load forecasts, the need for power plants and transmission lines, and many others.

Richard E. (Rick) Morgan is a Commissioner with the District of Columbia PUC. He began his second four-year term in 2007. Commissioner Morgan serves as leader of the Task Force on Climate Policy of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), and on the association's board of directors. He is also a member of NARUC's Energy Resources and Environment Committee. In addition, Commissioner Morgan represents NARUC on the Climate Change Working Group of the International Confederation of Energy Regulators (ICER). He is also co-chair of the Electricity Committee of the Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (MACRUC), chairs the Board of the Smart Meter Pilot Program, Inc. (SMPPI), serves on the NARUC-FERC Collaborative on the Smart Grid, and is a member of the advisory board for the Sustainable Energy Utility of the District of Columbia. Before joining the PSC as a commissioner, Mr. Morgan spent 12 years with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he focused on climate policy and emissions trading and represented EPA on energy policy matters. He oversaw the development of data tools such as the eGRID database of power plant emissions and served as an EPA liaison to state public utility commissions and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. From 1994 through 1995, Mr. Morgan served on a detail with the U.S. Department of Energy, representing the federal government in electricity restructuring proceedings in California, New York, and Maryland. During his 40 years in the field of energy policy and utilities, Commissioner Morgan has authored numerous books, reports, and papers on electric power.

While it's true that you can register for this conference as late as the morning of the event, we recommend you do it today. By registering now, you'll be sure to get all your conference materials and dial-in instructions with plenty of time to spare.

So please take a moment to register online today.