Overview of Basis

In addition to the rates which apply to particular charges (line items) we assign different codes to the tariff which describes how a line item charge is calculated using the rate provided as well as any other information which is necessary to make the calculation accurately.  In the Clarity Grid Tariff schema, we call each of these individual rates “basis”. The basis name will indicate how the rate will be applied to consumption or peak usage, what time periods of consumption it will apply to, any adjustments which may be made to consumption or peak usage prior to calculations ect.  For a full list and description of types of basis we use click here:  

  Types of Tariff Charges (Basis):

In addition to the rates which apply to particular charges (line items) we assign different codes to the tariff which describes how a charge is calculated using the rate provided as well as any other information which is necessary to make the calculation accurately.  In the Clarity Grid Tariff schema, we call each of these individual rates “basis”. The basis name will indicate how the rate will be applied to consumption or peak usage, what time periods of consumption it will apply to, any adjustments which may be made to consumption or peak usage prior to calculations ect.  The list of Basis is provided below. 

Charge Type

API Basis

Trace text charge code

Notes
1) Customer Charge ($)
1.1) Fixed ($)

fixed

c.t

Traditional Monthly Customer Charge ($) 

This is the recurring monthly cost of providing electric service to the customer regardless of usage. The amount is in the “cost” element of the single item in the “range” collection of the “customer_charge” 

 

“range”:[ 

{“cost”:50,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:0}, 

],”basis”:”fixed”,

1.2) Tiered:Fixed based upon Kilowatt Hours

fixed_kWh

ct.t

Tiered Monthly Customer Charge ($) 

Different fixed charges are applied depending on the usage peak. Will have more than one item in the range collection. The “from” of the item is where the previous range stopped. In this example, there is no charge if the monthly usage is below 43 kWh. There is a $50 charge if the usage is > 43kWh and < 425 kWh. There is a $150 charge if the usage is > 425 kWh 

 

“range”:[ 

{“cost”:50,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:43}, 

{“cost”:150,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:425} 

],”basis”:”fixed_kwh”,

2) Distribution Charge ($/kWh)
2.1) Distribution Charge ($/kWh)

kWh

d.t

Traditional Monthly $/kWh Base Distribution Charge 

This is the cost of providing delivery service of kWhrs from the Wholesale distribution point (substation) to the customer premise. 

Will have one item in the range collection: 

 

{“cost”:0.5,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:0}

2.2) Distribution Charge Tiered ($/kWh)(Tiered)

kWh

dt.t

Tiered distribution charge by monthly volume 

This is the cost of providing local delivery whose charge varies for each volume range of usage during a month. Will have more than one item in the range collection: 

 

[{“cost”:0.12,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:0},{“cost”:0.22,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:200}]

2.3) Distribution Charge Peak kW by Block Factor ($/kWh)

peak_kW_bf

dtb.t

Distribution charge tiered rate by block factor 

This is the cost of local delivery Where the range of usage for Which a given $/kWh charge applies is determined first by 0 up to the customer’s monthly peak usage multiplied by a fixed Block Factor (“from”: “hours”} expressed as hours, or kWh/kW, billing demand etc. Each subsequent range begins at the outer range of the previous Tier and ends at the next block factor times monthly peak usage, this continues until all monthly usage is assigned a range (tier) and priced against the relevant price. 

 

“range”: [

{ “cost”: 0.02156, “blcfctr”: 0, “from”: 0 },

{ “cost”: 0.0083, “blcfctr”: 0, “from”: 275 }

],

“basis”: “peak_kw_bf”,

2.4) Distribution Charge Peak kW by Billing Demand ($/kWh)

billdmd_bf

dtbd.t

Distribution tiered by notional and block factor (billing demand) 

This is similar in format to Billing Demand however ranges for pricing (Tiers) are bounded by either Block Factors*Peak Usage, or notional numbers, e.g. 0-2,000 kWhrs. 

 

“range”:[

{“cost”:0.02173,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:0}, 

{“cost”:0.01932,”blcfctr”:100,”from”:0}, 

{“cost”:0.01373,”blcfctr”:200,”from”:0}, 

{“cost”:0.01177,”blcfctr”:400,”from”:0} 

], 

“basis”:”billdmd_bf”,

2.5) Distribution  Charge Peak kW by Block Factor Ratchet

billdmd_bf_ratchet

dtbr.t

Distribution charge tiered by block factor but whose peak usage component is the higher of the current monthly peak OR average usage over a set number of trailing months times a ratio, format example (.80,11), Where average peak usage over the preceding 11 months times .80 is compared to the current monthly peak and higher of two values is used. The percentage, number of months, and amount for the ratchet are in the “coincident_peak” object. 

 

“coincident_peak”:{“previous_months”:11,”cost”:0.03,”percent”:80}, 

“range”:[

{“cost”:0.04,”blcfctr”:100,”from”:0}, 

{“cost”:0.06,”blcfctr”:100,”from”:200}, 

{“cost”:0.13,”blcfctr”:200,”from”:200} 

],”basis”:”billdmd_bf_ratchet”,

3) Demand Charge ($/kW)
3.1) Demand Charge ($/kW)(Untiered)

peak_kW

dc.t

Traditional NCP (Non-Coincident Peak) Monthly Demand Charge-Separate Charge assessed against peak usage over the billing month multiplied by the Demand Rate expressed as $/kW, or initially $/kVa Which is then converted by power factor, e.g., .85. The amount is in the “cost” element of the single item in the range collection: 

 

“range”:[

{“cost”:7.254,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:0}

],”basis”:”peak_kw”,

3.2) Demand Charge ($/kW)(Tiered)

peak_kW

dct.t

Traditional NCP(Non-Coincident Peak) Monthly Demand Charge W Tiers-Same type of charge as Demand Charge listed above but Whose rate ($/kW) varies based upon peak usage beginning at a level above 0 kW. The tiers are defined by multiple items in the range collection: 

 

“range”:[

{“cost”:3.74,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:0}, 

{“cost”:6.99,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:10} 

,”basis”:”peak_kw”,

3.3) Demand Charge Ratchet ($/kW)

non_coincident_peak_ratchet

dcr.t

Traditional NCP(Non-Coincident Peak) Monthly Demand Charge W ratchet-Same type of charge as above but Whose peak usage is higher of current monthly peak or trailing months times a ratio. The ratchet variables are in the “coincident_peak” object: 

 

“coincident_peak”:{“previous_months”:11,”cost”:19.89,,”percent”:80.0}, “range”:[],”basis”:”non_coincident_peak_ratchet”

3.4) Daily Demand Charge ($/kW)

daily_peak_kW

ddc.t

NCP(Non-Coincident Peak) Daily Demand Charge-Same as Monthly NCP Demand but Whose maximum peak is measured each day and multiplied by a daily demand rate $/kW. The amount is in the “cost” element of the one item in the “range” collection: 

 

“range”:[

{“cost”:0.04,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:0}

],”basis”:”daily_peak_kw”,

3.5) Daily Demand Charge ($/kW)(Tiered)

daily_peak_kW_tr

ddct.t

NCP(Non-Coincident Peak) Daily Demand Charge +10 kW-Same as Daily Demand but Whose peak usage measurement for the day begins at a level above 0. The tiers are persisted to multiple items in the “range” collection using the “cost” and “from” elements. 

 

“range”:[

{“cost”:0,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:0},

{“cost”:15,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:50},

{“cost”:14,”blcfct r”:0,”from”:100},

{“cost”:13,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:200}

],”basis”:”daily_peak_kw_tr”,

3.6) Excess Demand

dced

dced.t

Some Australia tariffs have an excess demand charge. This charge is applied to customers whose off peak peak is higher than their on peak peak. If the off peak peak is higher than the off peak peak, the charge amount is multiplied by the difference.

(offPeakPeak – onPeakPeak) * Amount

The range object will have one value in the cost element for the amount:

“range”:[{“cost”:2.65,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:0}],”basis”:”dced”,

 

TDL (trace text): The onPeak period is defined by a TOU formula and is required:

excess dmd|(0-+),,,(,(8:00-21:00),(M-F)

3.7) Coincident Peak Demand Charges ($/kW)

one_coincident_peak three_coincident_peak four_coincident_peak five_coincident_peak x_coincident_peak

dcXcp.t

CP (Coincident Peak) Monthly Demand Charge 

Demand Charge Which is assessed monthly using the current CP Demand Rate ($/kW) but Whose usage amount is the average of several “Coincident Peak” hours and days of the previous year as published by the Independent System Operator (ISO). 

 

NOTE: x_coincident_peak will eventually obsolete one,three, etc… 

Any number of coincident peak hours are supported as per the number of elements in the “coincident_dates” collection. The amount is in the “cost” element. These dates are epochs. 

 

“cpmax_pct”:70, 

“coincident_peak”: 

“previous_months”:0, 

“cost”:17.5, 

“coincident_dates”:[1594825200000,1597503600000], 

“year”:2021, 

“percent”:0 

},”range”:[],”basis”:”x_coincident_peak”,

3.8) Demand Charge Tiered Ratchet

dmd_tiered_ratchet

dctr.t

Traditional NCP(Non-Coincident Peak) Monthly Demand Charge Tiered W ratchet-Same Demand Charge Tiered charge as the others but Whose peak usage is higher of current monthly peak or trailing months times a ratio. The ratio is in the “percent” element of the “coincident_peak object and the number of trailing months is in the “previous_months” element. The tiers are defined in the “range” collection in its “cost” and “from” elements: 

 

“coincident_peak”:{“previous_months”:12,”cost”:0.0,”year”:2021,”percent”:90.0},

“range”:[

{“cost”:0.0,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:0},

{“cost”:12.0,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:2}

], “basis”:”dmd_tiered_ratchet”,

Elements of the “demand_charge” collection that apply to all coincident_peak charge types if present, and non-zero.

CP Excess Demand 

“excess_pct”:100

The Excess Demand shall be the difference between the highest 15-minute kW demand registered or computed by or from the City’s metering facilities, 

and the CP Billing Demand for the current month 

for excess demand we take n% of the coincident peak(s) value 

and n% of the current peak, 

and use the curMonthDemndPeak-CP if > 0

CP Max Percent

“cpmax_pct”:70

peakToUse is the max of all the cp’s * the percentage

CP Min 

“cpmin”:1000, 

“cpmin_pct”:50

if you add (cpmin,1000,50) it will do: 

The Contract Demand shall be the greater of the following: 

1,000 kW or 50% of the highest 60-minute coincident peak demand established by the customer during the current or preceding 12 billing months

4) Energy Charge ($/kWh)
4.1) Energy Charge ($/kWh)

kwh

e.t

Monthly amount is determined by multiplying the cost per kWh by the monthly usage. The cost is persisted to the “cost” element in the single item in the “range” collection: 

 

“range”:[{“cost”:0.13467,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:0}],”basis”:”kwh”,

4.2) Energy Charge Tiered ($/kWh)

kwh

et.t

Tiered Energy charge where there is a different cost based off of the usage. The tiers are defined by multiple items in the “range” collection. In this example, if the usage is between 0 and 100 kWh, the amount is 0.166 If the usage is over 100 kWh, the amount per kWh is 0.1451 

 

“range”:[{“cost”:0.166,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:0}, 

{“cost”:0.1451,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:100} 

], 

“basis”:”kwh”,

4.3) Energy Charge Tiered Daily ($/kWh)

daily_kwh_tr

etd.t

Calculated on daily usage totals. The tiers are defined by items in the “range” collection. Each day’s usage is examined to see what tier it falls in, and the “cost” for that tier is used for the calculation. In the following example, if the day’s usage is 0 to 200 the cost per kWh is 0.05448. From 200 to 400: 0.0199. Above 400: 0.01649 

 

“range”:[

{“cost”:0.05448,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:0}, 

{“cost”:0.0199,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:200}, 

{“cost”:0.01649,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:400} 

], 

“basis”:”daily_kwh_tr”,

4.4) Energy Charge Peak kW by Block Factor ($/kWh)

peak_kw_bf

etb.t

Cost per block factor is defined in the “range” collection “cost” and “from” elements: 

 

“range”:[ 

{“cost”:0.08375,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:0}, 

{“cost”:0.03221,”blcfctr”:0,”from”:360} 

], 

“basis”:”peak_kw_bf”

4.5) Energy Charge Peak kW by Block Factor Ratchet

billdmd_bf_ratchet

etbr.t

Energy charge (per kWh) tiered by block factor but Whose peak usage component is the higher of the current monthly peak OR average usage over a set number of trailing months times a ratio, format example (.80,11), Where average peak usage over the preceding 11 months times .80 is compared to the current monthly peak and higher of two values is used. 

The percentage, number of months, and amount for the ratchet are in the “coincident_peak” object. 

 

“coincident_peak”:{“previous_months”:11,”cost”:0.03,”percent”:80}, 

“range”:[

{“cost”:0.04,”blcfctr”:100,”from”:0}, 

{“cost”:0.06,”blcfctr”:100,”from”:200}, 

{“cost”:0.13,”blcfctr”:200,”from”:200} 

],”basis”:”billdmd_bf_ratchet”,

4.6) Energy Charge ($/kWh) Off Peak Block Factor

offpeak_bf

etopb.t

Energy charge tiered rate by block factor-This is the cost of local delivery Where the range of usage for Which a given $/kWh charge applies is determined first by 0 up to the customer’s monthly On-peak peak usage multiplied by a fixed Block Factor (200 hours) expressed as hours, then multiplied (Weighted) by the ratio of Off Peak/Total usage. Each subsequent range begins at the outer range of the previous Tier and ends at the next block factor times monthly peak usage times the Off Peak/Peak Usage, this continues until all monthly usage is assigned a range (tier) and priced against the relevant price. Tiers are defined per block factor by items in the “range” collection. 

 

“range”:[

{“cost”:0.05284,”blcfctr”:200,”from”:0}, 

{“cost”:0.02005,”blcfctr”:200,”from”:0}, 

{“cost”:0.0175,”blcfctr”:400,”from”:0} 

], 

“basis”:”offpeak_bf”,

4.7) Energy Charge ($/kWh) Billing Demand

billdmd_bf

etbd.t

Energy tiered by notional and block factor (billing demand)-This is similar in format to Billing Demand however ranges for pricing (Tiers) are bounded by either Block Factors*Peak Usage, or notional numbers, e.g. 0-2,000 kWhrs.
4.8) Energy Charge ($/kWh) Tiered Adjusted Billing Demand etabd

Energy tiered by notional+block factor value as beginning of Tier to higher notional value+block factor value as upper bound of Tier. The tiers for each block factor and amounts are in the items of the “range” collection. 

 

“range”:[

{“cost”:0.152846,”blcfctr”:125,”from”:0}, 

{“cost”:0.076709,”blcfctr”:125,”from”:3000}, 

{“cost”:0.060829,”blcfctr”:125,”from”:90000}, 

{“cost”:0.105562,”blcfctr”:275,”from”:0}, 

{“cost”:0.078176,”blcfctr”:275,”from”:6000}, 

{“cost”:0.075619,”blcfctr”:275,”from”:101000}, 

{“cost”:0.06996,”blcfctr”:400,”from”:0}

], 

“basis”:”etabd”,

4.9) Energy Charge ($/kWh) Feed In Rate Applies to all Energy Charge Basis

If the “feedin_rate” has a value > 0, it will be multiplied by the sum of all negative usage amounts and added into the total bill amount as a credit. 

 

“feedin_rate”: 0.24

Index Pricing e.ndx.t If a charge is using index pricing, the hourly dayahead prices are multiplied by corresponding hourly usage, then that is added to the energy charge.
5) Other Tariff Charge Elements
Components Collection “components”

When a charge has detail lines that are summed together to arrive at the value for the “cost” element, we record these in the “components” collection. This is a name / value collection where the “label” element is the name and the “price” element is the value. These numbers are not used in any computations in the tariff bill calculation engine. They are strictly informational. 

 

“components”: [ 

“price”: 0.3016, 

“label”: “VDO variable charge 1($/kWh)(0-1020 kWh)” 

}, 

{

“price”: 0.3335, 

“label”: “VDO variable charge 2($/kWh)(+1020 kWh)”} 

],

On Peak / On Peak and TOU Time Periods “time_period”

If a charge only applies for certain months, hours or days the time period it applies for is in the “time_period” object. The charge will only be applied to usage that occurs during the time period and any peaks are confined to the time period. The “time_period” element has days, hours and months collections. Hour values are 0 thru 23. “days_of_week” values are 1=Sunday thru 7=Saturday. “months” 1=January 

 

“time_period”: { 

“days_of_week”: [2,3,4,5,6], 

“hours”: [ 15, 16, 17,18, 19, 20]], 

“months”: [ 4,5,6, 7,8,9,10,11 ]

}

Tariff Attributes

The id element is the unique auto-increment id for the tariff detail. There is one tariff detail for each effective date (revision) of the tariff: 

“id”: 11752, 

The following id is the id that links all the tariff detail rows to the distributor. “distributor_tariff_detail_id”: 65306, 

The “revision_reason” is free form text explaining if there is a special purpose for the revision. For example “updated PPA” 

“revision_reason”: “Effective Date” 

The auto-increment id of the distributor 

“distributor_id”: 2281, 

The name of the tariff 

“tariff_name”: “C-NASN12 Small business single rate demand”, 

The date this revision becomes effective. 

“effective_start_date”: “2022-07-01”, 

The Notes object contains the distributors notes regarding the applicability of the tariff and the URL for the distributors original document: 

 

{“notes”:”This rate is available to commercial customers who receive service at secondary voltage and who have a maximum measured demand of 300 KW or greater per billing period.”, 

“research_url”:”}