How To Set Up Service Quantity Rate Components

When setting up an SQ rate component, additional fields become available for you to define.

The following information will help you to set up your SQ rate components.

Select a Value Type of Unit Rate if the type of charge is an amount per some unit of consumption. In the rare situation where the amount of the charge is flat for the first X units of consumption, use the Value Type of Charge. This field will be disabled when the rate component is referenced on another rate component.

Refer to Rate Component - Main Information for information about defining the Value Source.

The amount that you specified using the bill factor / value field was a price per some unit of something. This thing must be identified using the Unit Of Measure, Time Of Use, and Service Qty. Identifier fields.

Fastpath:

For more information about UOM / TOU / SQI, refer to UOM versus TOU versus SQI.

Turn on Error if No Value if a bill error should be generated if the UOM / TOU / SQI specified on the rate component was not supplied at billing time. For example, if every customer using a time-of-use rate should be on a meter with ON and OFF peak register, you'd turn on this switch for the ON and OFF rate components. This way, if a customer somehow was put on a time-of-use rate, but their meter wasn't a time-of-use meter, an error would be generated.

If the charge is only applicable to consumption within some tier (e.g., the first 500 therms, or all kilowatt-hours in excess of 1,000), indicate that the rate component is Stepped. When this option is turned on, you must indicate the Step Low Value and Step High Value that the consumption charge is applicable to. For example, if the charge is applicable to the first 300 kilowatt-hours, you would enter Step Low Value 0 and Step High Value 300. When multiple tiers exist, the high value of the first tier is the low value of the second tier (and so on). To extend our example, the second tier would have a low value of 300; the high value may be left blank because the system assumes a blank high value means "to infinity".
Note: The Step Low Value and Step High Value fields support values of up to 9 digits and 2 decimal places (e.g. a maximum value of 999,999,999.99).

If the step boundaries are dynamic (i.e., they are calculated based on something that's only known at billing time), you can change the step boundaries using either of the following methods:

  • Use Step RC Sequence to indicate the sequence number of the rate component whose value will be multiplied by the step's boundaries to calculate the step boundaries to use at billing time.
  • Use Step Algorithm to indicate that an algorithm will be called to manipulate the step boundaries (note, this algorithm can manipulate the low and/or high boundaries). If you plan to use this method, you must set up this algorithm in the system. To do this:
  • Create a new algorithm (refer to Setting Up Algorithms ).
  • On this algorithm, reference an Algorithm Type that manipulates a rate component's step boundaries.
Note:

Retaining Step Algorithm High/Low Boundaries. Step Algorithms are invoked during rate application to adjust step values prior to the system performing step value proration. Depending on the step value proration that occurs, the step value may be modified by the system after the rate component step algorithm has adjusted it. If you wish the adjusted step value to be modified by the system during step value proration, you must set up the Adjust Rate Component Step Values After Proration option type on the Financial Transaction Options Feature Configuration. The Adjust Rate Component Step Values After Proration option must have a value of Y in order to have the adjusted step values modified by the system. Otherwise, set the value to N.

Fastpath:

For an example of when dynamic steps are needed, refer to Hours-Based Electric Rate and Step Boundaries Based On The Number Of Days Of Usage And The Region In Which The Customer Resides.

Warning:

If you dynamically calculate step boundaries and the resultant high AND low values become zero, this signals the system that the rate component should be skipped (i.e., no bill line will be produced for the rate component).

Turn on GL Statistical Quantity if GL journal lines generated for this rate component should also contain the service quantity amount as a statistical quantity. You would use this option if you keep track of both dollar amounts and consumption units in your general ledger.

Warning:

When a bill segment is created, the system stores the statistical quantity on the journal line associated with the rate component's distribution code. If you book multiple UOM's to the same distribution code, you should only turn on GL Statistical Qty on one of the rate components. Otherwise, you will commingle different UOM's on a journal line's statistical quantity.

Fastpath:

Refer to Determining the Statistical Quantity for more information.

Turn on Measures Peak Qty if the UOM / TOU / SQI is associated with electric demand.

Note:

Default note. The value of Measures Peak Qty is defaulted from the UOM table (if a UOM is specified).

Enter the verbiage to appear on the customer's bill in Description On Bill and turn on the Print switch. Refer to How to use Description on Bill for more information about these fields.

Move to the GL Distribution window to define how to book moneys associated with this rate component in the general ledger.