How we get the rates

This page tells you how we get the rates and how the calculator gets the total.

Where the rates come from

Each rate comes from an official document of the utility or of the state commission: a tariff sheet, a rate page or a rate notice. The state commission approves the tariffs of investor-owned utilities. The board or the city council of a public utility or a cooperative approves its tariffs. We do not use rates from other websites.

For each rate, we record these items:

• The name and the number of the tariff schedule.
• The date when the rate starts.
• A link to the tariff sheet.
• The date of our last check.

How we check a tariff

1. We open the tariff sheet on the website of the utility.
2. We read each charge, each tier and each season from the text of the sheet.
3. We read the rider schedules that the tariff names, for example fuel cost recovery.
4. We calculate test bills. When an official value exists, we compare the test bills with it: the bill calculator of the state commission, a typical bill that the utility publishes, or the totals on the tariff sheets.
5. When no official value exists, we calculate the test bills by hand from the tariff, in a separate calculation.
6. Each utility page tells you which check we used and the result of the check.

We check each tariff again each month. When a rate changes, we update the calculator and the date of our last check.

How the calculator gets the total

1. It adds the fixed charge. Some utilities use a charge for each day. Some utilities use a charge for each month.
2. It finds the season from the billing month.
3. It applies the energy rate of each tier to the kWh in that tier.
4. It adds the riders. A rider can be a rate for each kWh or a percentage of the bill.
5. It adds the fees, for example a franchise fee.

The calculator rounds each line to the cent. Each percentage uses the rounded lines. The calculator adds a tax only when you type the tax rate from your bill.

Differences from a bill

Your bill can be different from the result. These are the usual causes:

• Your bill includes sales tax, a city fee or a discount that you did not type or select.
• Your billing period has a different number of days.
• Your billing period starts in one season and stops in a different season.
• A rate changed during your billing period.
• The utility rounds a line in a different way. This can cause a difference of one cent.

For example, the Georgia Power tariff (Schedule R-31) gives one winter rate for all kWh. The calculator of the Georgia Public Service Commission divides the winter kWh into three parts and rounds each part. For some kWh values, the two totals are different by one cent. Our calculator follows the text of the tariff.

Utilities that we checked

How we check the other data

• Government data. Average bills, business rates, natural gas prices, city populations, solar output and Texas plans come from the files of the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Census Bureau, the National Laboratory of the Rockies (PVWatts) and the Public Utility Commission of Texas. Each page names its source and the year or date of the data.
• Separate checks. For each data set, a separate test reads the original file again and compares the values with the pages, for example the average bill, the business price, the gas cost or the lowest Texas plan.
• Programs and rebates. Bill help programs and rebate pages come from the official pages of the state, the utility or the program. Each page shows the date that we checked it.
• No paid placement. No utility, supplier or program pays us to show a rate, a plan, a ranking or a result. This website has no affiliate links.

Corrections policy

We want every rate and every result to be correct. If you find an error, send an email to contactus@utilityratecalc.com. Give the name of your utility, your rate schedule, the page and the value that is different. If you can, add a link to the official document or a photo of the bill line.

1. We compare your report with the official document of the utility or the state commission.
2. If our value is wrong or old, we correct it, run the tests again and update the page. The page then shows the new date of our last check.
3. If a rate changed, the change is also listed on the rate changes page, with the old and the new value and the source.
4. If our value is correct, we reply with the official document that shows it.

A difference that comes from your account, for example a tax, a late fee, a past balance or a program discount, is not an error in the tariff: ask your utility about it.

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