Load Management Dialogue

Join Us For....

Why Is Electricity Pricing So Difficult?
Between a Rock and a Smart Meter

with Ahmad Faruqui, The Brattle Group; Bill LeBlanc, E Source; and Derek Kirchner, Consumers Energy

Thursday, May 28, 2020; 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. Eastern

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For decades, there has been the promise of time-differentiated and dynamic pricing for electricity consumers, yet we are still far from reaching that elusive goal. This disconnect between price signals and marginal costs has complicated efforts to modulate system peaks and fill the duck curve’s belly. At the same time, customers do not tend to desire more complex rates, being comfortable with their traditional flat rate despite the fact they don’t know what a kilowatt hour is. But now, with smart meters and technologies to help customers manage energy use like never before, how can we greatly boost pricing success in the decade to come?

Come hear two energy experts discuss how some utilities are succeeding with TOU, Demand, and even dynamic pricing, where the barriers are today, and how to design pricing options that customers actually understand and want.

Ahmad Faruqui The Brattle Group Dr. Faruqui has over 40 years of experience working on issues related to customer engagement, including rate design, load flexibility, distributed energy resources, demand forecasting, and electrification. In his research and consulting career, he has worked for over 150 clients on five continents, and has published more than 100 papers on energy topics in peer-reviewed and trade journals. His work has been cited in The Economist, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Forbes, and he has appeared on NPR and Fox Business News. He has provided expert testimony, appeared before commissions, and presented to governments across the globe. Dr. Faruqui has taught economics at three universities over a seven-year period and has delivered guest lectures at a dozen more universities, including MIT, Northwestern, Stanford, and UC Berkeley.

Bill LeBlanc E Source Bill LeBlanc is a recognized leader in utility customer programs and strategies, with particular expertise in program design, marketing, market research, new product development, and behavior change. He assists utility clients in understanding their customer markets, providing tools and messages to sway customer demand, and creating overall market strategies. He has been a leader and innovator in energy efficiency and load management throughout his 20+ year career, working for PG&E, EPRI, E Source, and consulting firms. Bill was the Founding President of the Association of Energy Services Professionals, still the industry’s major society. Bill is known for his creativity and problem-solving ability and is a sought-after public speaker. Before joining the utility industry, Bill worked for Disney as well as Apple.

Derek Kirchner Consumers Energy and PLMA Executive Committee Derek is the Director of Commercial and Industrial Demand Response for Consumers Energy. He is responsible for managing over 340 MW of Demand Response resources within his portfolio through several commercial and industrial interruptible tariffs. His current focus is on expanding participation in these programs to meet Consumers Clean Energy Plan as set forth in their recent IRP. Derek is currently serving on PLMA’s Executive Committee after previously serving as the Vice Chair. He has spent over 20 years in the utility industry, previously at DTE Energy, and has worked in Customer Marketing, Generation Optimization, Corporate Strategy, Integrated Resource Planning, and Regulatory Pricing. He has a BA in Business Administration from the University of Detroit-Mercy and is a Certified Energy Manager (CEM).