Sustainability & Risk/ Energy / Accounting Supervisor

Declining Blocks Cost Structure

In a rate schedule that applies declining blocks, one rate is applied for the first x number of kW and another rate is applied to the excess units. The Block Threshold field defines that first number of units that are charged at that initial Cost per Unit. The remaining units are charged at an excess Cost per Unit.

When defining rate contracts that use a declining block structure, you enter the cost per unit for each block in the declining block cost structure. You can also enter any Seasonal or Time-of-Use definitions. Upon saving, two records are created. These use the identical Seasonal and Time-of-Use definitions, but one has the value ‘1’ and the second has the value ‘2’ in the Rate Structure—Block field, and the values for the Cost per Unit are different.

The application also supports entering more than two rate blocks. The user can enter multiple rate blocks, with a different threshold for each new level. The structure requires that each subsequent block contains a threshold value that is greater than the previous block’s threshold. The last block will have no threshold.

See Defining the utility rates or the contract.

Editing and deleting declining block cost structures - Rate Reference Field

The two records remain associated with one another through the Rate Reference (hidden) field. This field is populated with the associated rate record. For example, if the Auto-numbered ID of the First Block rate record is 6, then the Rate Reference field for the associated Excess rate will have 6 saved into it.

When editing these records, you always edit them together. The edit form opens just as with the Add New form, with both records edited from the same form. After the records have been saved the first time, the Rate Structure - Block field becomes read-only. The Delete button deletes both rates.

For more than two blocks, each subsequent block’s Rate Reference field will be populated with the first block’s Auto-numbered ID.