Energy Topics

Demand Ratchets

Describes the theory underlying Demand Ratchets, their advantages, disadvantages, and how the level of demand should be determined.

Time-of-Day Pricing

Describes the theory behind time-of-day pricing, practical difficulties with time-of-day pricing, how time-of-day pricing could be practically applied to industrial customers, and what a state public utility commission could do regarding time-of-day for small customers.

Traditional Rate of Return

Fair Value

Contrasts historical cost rate of return and fair value rate base, the fair rate of return, and a fair rate of return and the utility's cost of capital.

Depreciation

Discusses the concept of depreciation regarding public utilities, appropriate methods of computing depreciation, the concept of the estimated service life, and net salvage value.

Working Capital

Discusses the relevance of working capital from a rate making viewpoint, the consideration of cost-free capital sources in the determination of the utility's revenue requirement, and a more appropriate method of recognizing this cost-free capital in the determination of the revenue requirement.