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Concord Light Plant outlines pathway to default opt‑out time‑of‑use rate, eyes pilot in 2025 and possible Jan. 2026 rollout
Summary
Staff proposed a staged move to a default opt‑out time‑of‑use rate: small pilot and side‑by‑side billing in 2025, a cost‑of‑service study in October 2025, and potential implementation as early as January 2026; staff also flagged AMI data, billing‑system readiness, and net‑metering interactions as unresolved items.
Concord Light Plant staff laid out a multi‑step plan to shift the utility’s residential customers to a default opt‑out time‑of‑use (TOU) rate, emphasizing data collection, small pilots, customer education and technical testing before any full rollout.
Director Jason said the authority’s goal is a default TOU rate (customers may opt out) but that staff wants a careful, public process. “Our goal is, default opt out time of use rate where people have to — this is the default rate we give people. They can opt out,” Jason said, introducing the plan.
Laura (staff overseeing rate design) described the technical prerequisites: the utility has been installing advanced meters since February and expects to have 70% of meters installed by July 2025; ideal accuracy for designing a full TOU would be roughly one year of hourly data on ~70% of meters, which would allow a cost‑of‑service study in October 2025. Laura recommended starting smaller: an opt‑in pilot of 20–30 customers in early 2025, shadow/side‑by‑side billing to show customers what a TOU bill would look like without charging them, and stress‑testing the meter data management (MDM) and NISC billing system before full implementation.
On opt‑out pricing, Laura reminded the board that it had previously approved an opt‑out approach and staff proposed a 4% premium for customers who choose to remain on the legacy rate. Several board members said the premium and its distributional effects deserve further study; Pamela urged that customers who decline AMI meters should not avoid cost responsibility, saying those customers should pay higher rates, while others urged more customer supports and clear guidance.
The board also pressed staff on customer tools and equity: members asked for clear guidance on how households can reduce peak consumption (programmable thermostats, links to appliance features), and raised questions about how solar exports would be handled under TOU (e.g., whether netting occurs within hourly periods or excess is cashed out at retail or wholesale). Laura said Concord’s current net‑billing approach would require a separate policy process to determine TOU interactions with solar.
Key technical figures cited in the meeting: staff reported 34 customers had currently declined AMI meters; the metering team had swapped about 300 load‑control relays; staff expects the advanced metering rollout to finish in early October (supply‑dependent). Laura recommended shadow/side‑by‑side billing and customer education to begin in 2025 and a cost‑of‑service study in October 2025 to inform a January 2026 implementation target.
What’s next: Board members asked staff to return with a detailed meeting‑by‑meeting timeline showing when decisions and public input opportunities will occur. Staff will continue pilot planning, MDM stress tests, NISC billing setup and community outreach.
