Non-residential Electricity Prices: A Review of Data Sources and Estimation Methods
Publication Type
Report
Date Published
04/2019
Authors
Abstract
This paper presents a review of electricity price data sources and estimation methods for non-residential consumers, including a detailed empirical study of tariff-based prices collected as part of Lawrence Berkeley Lab’s Tariff Analysis Project (TAP). We compare the TAP data to two other data sources: utility-level annual sales, revenues and consumer counts published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), and the Typical Bills reports published by the Edison Electric Institute. A brief overview of the types of rate structures included in the TAP database illustrates the often complex relationship between the consumer’s energy use
and the costs they see on their electricity bills. We provide mathematical definitions of the different types of electricity price that are useful in cost-benefit analysis, construct estimation methods appropriate to each data set, compare the results, and
evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of each approach. We also examine how price variation is driven by differences in season, region, industry business model, and variables characterizing consumer energy use. Tables of regional price estimates for each data source, based on 2015 data, are included in the Appendix to this paper.
Year of Publication
2019