Time-of-Day Electricity Rates for the United States
This report is an executive summary of a larger body of research. It contains the authors' major policy recommendations for electricity pricing. The detailed analyses on which these findings are based are contained in some 48 separate studies. The policy recommendations of the authors are as follows: The time-of-day (TOD) rate structure should be tailored to the cost circumstances of the particular utility, with the peak period encompassing the hours of highest cost; utilities and commissions considering the introduction of TOD rates can use the authors' results to generate reasonable projections of response in their service territory; the projections will not exactly predict the results for any given utility; TOD rates for residential customers should be implemented selectively and designed to attract households for whom they are cost-effective; and a utility should conduct a cost-benefit analysis that incorporates data on local conditions when establishing the desirable minimum level of use for TOD rates.