Understanding gas & electric utility rates and their relationship to
utility profits doesn't have to be confusing. Master the fundamentals of
energy rate-making and learn the financial and accounting differences
between regulated and unregulated businesses with this comprehensive
course. This is a "must" seminar for anyone who is new to the utility
industry or who is impacted by the utility rate-making process.
What You Will Learn
Plain English explanations of numerous gas & electric regulatory terms
and concepts, and how the federal and state rate-making process works.
How gas & electric rate-making practices vary between investor owned
utilities, municipal utilities, coops, and how these rate practices
impact unregulated energy marketers.
The jargon used in the regulatory process, so that you can understand
each step of a rate case.
Why utilities file rate cases and the types of analyses they conduct
to support their proposals.
The difference between cost of service and market-based pricing, and
how these rates are applied.
How various federal and state rate case procedures work, and how they
differ.
What the different cost components of the base rate case are, and how
they are determined.
The financial drivers for regulated utilities and how they differ from
unregulated businesses
How to improve utility profitability through the rate-making process.
How different types of pricing structures are designed within rate
proceedings
You Will Also Learn
The specifics of various natural gas and electric rate structures; how
to read a tariff; and how to analyze a gas & electric bill.
What rate structures benefit customers and suppliers, and when.
How rate structures are designed and applied in deregulated
environments.
How to calculate comparisons between regulated and deregulated supply
procurement.
Who Should Attend:
Utility analysts, utility employees involved in legal, accounting,
regulatory, engineering, operations, customer service, sales, or
marketing, Utility commission employees, industrial customers,
commercial customers, Energy producers, utilities, electric generators,
and marketers; energy and electric power executives; traders; marketing,
sales, purchasing & risk management personnel; accountants; trading
support staff; auditors; attorneys; government regulators; plant
operators; engineers and corporate planners.
Agenda:
Day One (Morning - 4 hours):
Conduct a thorough review of the gas & electric industries from a
regulatory perspective.
Discuss the major regulatory changes that created the energy
marketplace of today.
Review the fundamental concepts of gas & electric rates and
rate-making in detail.
Explain how rate base and rate of return are determined.
Discuss how items are categorized as operating expenses or capital
expenses.
Explain the federal and state rate case processes involved for both
base rate increases and fuel adjustments.
Discuss the various rationales used to request changes in gas &
electric rates.
Day One (Afternoon - 4 hours):
Review the current problems encountered when implementing today's
open-access markets and customer choice programs.
Examine the important issues that create friction between utilities
and energy marketers from both perspectives.
Conduct a gas/electric case study exercise that addresses specific
issues selected by the class.
Debate the merits of significant issues contained within the case
study using the active participation of class participants.
Day Two (4 hours):
Interpret a variety of gas & electric tariffs to become proficient in
bill analyses techniques.
Conduct several bill analyses with both gas and electric bills for
residential, commercial, and industrial customer groups.
Illustrate the differences between various gas & electric rate tariffs
using case studies of different bill applications.
Apply case study results and lessons to real-life situations.
Continue with the bill and tariff analysis using actual bill examples
and situations selected from the class participants which have been
submitted in advance.
Review several additional examples of increasing rate-making
complexity as time allows.
Produce comparative analysis of bundled and unbundled rates using
current electric and gas pricing examples.
Illustrate how the economics of rate design is applied in competitive
energy markets.