https://thedemandcharge.comIndependent analysis of commercial and industrial electricity bills: demand charges, rate schedules, power factor penalties and the arithmetic of reducing peak demand.en-USSun, 27 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://thedemandcharge.com/articles/time-of-use-rates-commercialhttps://thedemandcharge.com/articles/time-of-use-rates-commercialSun, 27 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000Commercial time-of-use rates price each kWh by when it is used. How TOU schedules and windowed demand charges work, and how to tell whether one will save you money.https://thedemandcharge.com/articles/riders-surcharges-explainedhttps://thedemandcharge.com/articles/riders-surcharges-explainedSun, 27 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000Rate riders are the charges added on top of the base rate: fuel adjustments, transmission recovery, program funding. What each attaches to, and what that does to your savings.https://thedemandcharge.com/articles/power-factor-penalties-explainedhttps://thedemandcharge.com/articles/power-factor-penalties-explainedSun, 27 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000A power factor penalty bills the reactive power your site draws. The three tariff mechanisms behind it, what a low power factor costs, and how to reduce the penalty.https://thedemandcharge.com/articles/meter-multiplier-ct-ratiohttps://thedemandcharge.com/articles/meter-multiplier-ct-ratioSun, 27 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000The meter multiplier on an electric bill turns the register reading into billed kWh and kW. How CT and PT ratios set it, and how to check that yours is right.https://thedemandcharge.com/articles/kw-vs-kwh-differencehttps://thedemandcharge.com/articles/kw-vs-kwh-differenceSun, 27 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000A kilowatt (kW) is a rate of electricity use; a kilowatt-hour (kWh) is an amount. What the difference means on a commercial bill, and why it changes savings math.https://thedemandcharge.com/articles/how-to-reduce-peak-demand-chargeshttps://thedemandcharge.com/articles/how-to-reduce-peak-demand-chargesSun, 27 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000How to reduce peak demand and the demand charge it sets: six measures from free sequencing to batteries, and the interval-data diagnostic that picks the right one.https://thedemandcharge.com/articles/demand-reduction-business-casehttps://thedemandcharge.com/articles/demand-reduction-business-caseSun, 27 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000Business demand reduction projects rarely fail on engineering. How to build the case: the all-in avoided cost per kW, NPV rather than payback, and a plan to prove the saving.https://thedemandcharge.com/articles/demand-charges-explainedhttps://thedemandcharge.com/articles/demand-charges-explainedSun, 27 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000A demand charge bills the highest 15-minute kW your site drew in the month, priced per kW. What it measures, how it is calculated, and why utilities charge it.https://thedemandcharge.com/articles/coincident-vs-non-coincident-demandhttps://thedemandcharge.com/articles/coincident-vs-non-coincident-demandSun, 27 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000Non-coincident peak demand is your own highest interval; coincident peak demand is your load when the grid peaked. How each is billed, and why each needs a different fix.https://thedemandcharge.com/articles/billing-determinants-explainedhttps://thedemandcharge.com/articles/billing-determinants-explainedSun, 27 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000Billing determinants are the metered quantities a utility prices on your bill: energy, billed demand, kVA and power factor. What each one is and how to check it.https://thedemandcharge.com/articles/bill-audit-checklisthttps://thedemandcharge.com/articles/bill-audit-checklistSun, 27 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000A 12-point electric bill audit for commercial accounts: meter multiplier, demand charge and ratchet arithmetic, riders and power factor. One bill, one tariff, one hour.https://thedemandcharge.com/articles/4cp-transmission-charges-ercothttps://thedemandcharge.com/articles/4cp-transmission-charges-ercotSun, 27 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +00004CP is ERCOT's four coincident peak method: four summer intervals set a Texas facility's transmission charge for the following year. How it works and how to manage it.https://thedemandcharge.com/articles/supply-vs-delivery-chargeshttps://thedemandcharge.com/articles/supply-vs-delivery-chargesThu, 24 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000In a retail choice state the bill has two halves with two different owners. Shopping moves one of them. The demand charge usually sits in the half that no supplier can touch.https://thedemandcharge.com/articles/standby-charges-onsite-generationhttps://thedemandcharge.com/articles/standby-charges-onsite-generationThu, 24 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000A site that makes some of its own power still needs the grid to be there when the generator is not. Standby tariffs price that readiness, and they decide many project cases.https://thedemandcharge.com/articles/solar-pv-and-demand-chargeshttps://thedemandcharge.com/articles/solar-pv-and-demand-chargesThu, 24 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000Solar cuts kilowatt-hours reliably. It cuts the monthly peak only when the sun cooperates in every interval that matters, and Berkeley Lab's modeling shows how rarely that happens.https://thedemandcharge.com/articles/ev-fleet-charging-demand-chargeshttps://thedemandcharge.com/articles/ev-fleet-charging-demand-chargesThu, 24 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000The energy to charge a fleet is predictable. The demand charge it creates depends almost entirely on when the vans plug in and whether anything limits how fast they all draw at once.https://thedemandcharge.com/articles/critical-peak-pricing-explainedhttps://thedemandcharge.com/articles/critical-peak-pricing-explainedThu, 24 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000A few event days a year at a very high price, paid for by a discount on every other day. Whether that suits a site comes down to how many kilowatts it can drop when an event is called.https://thedemandcharge.com/articles/c-pace-financing-energy-projectshttps://thedemandcharge.com/articles/c-pace-financing-energy-projectsThu, 24 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000C-PACE turns an energy project into a long assessment on the property tax bill. It can make a slow-payback measure cash-positive from year one, and the debt stays with the building.https://thedemandcharge.com/articles/battery-tco-modelhttps://thedemandcharge.com/articles/battery-tco-modelThu, 24 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000Installed cost is the visible number and rarely the decisive one. Degradation, augmentation, availability and end-of-life determine whether a fifteen-year case actually holds.https://thedemandcharge.com/articles/battery-peak-shaving-sizinghttps://thedemandcharge.com/articles/battery-peak-shaving-sizingThu, 24 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000Power rating and energy capacity are two separate specifications. A battery correct on one and wrong on the other fails to shave the peak while costing the full price.