Price Changes and Interval Quantities
All of the above sections described situations where the service quantities will be prorated due to changes in the price during the billing period. The above sections assume that the bill contains a simple metering scenario, where reads will not exist on the date of the price break.
However, consider an interval billing example. There are two basic pricing scenarios for interval quantities:
• Interval prices are applied to interval quantities. In this case, proration is not applicable because the prices are changing at small intervals and the appropriate calculation rule understands how to apply the prices to the interval quantities.
• Time of use prices. In this case, interval quantities are being mapped to time of use codes. The standard calculation rule algorithm will compare interval quantities to a time of use map resulting in new entries in the bill segment's SQ collection. Subsequent calculation rules will then apply the appropriate price for each SQ. In the time of use pricing scenario, it is possible for the prices to change during the bill period. When this happens, proration should not be necessary because readings will exist for the date of the price break.