When and How to Manipulate Measured Consumption

Many rates calculate charges based on measured consumption. For example, a simple electric rate has a price expressed as an amount per kilowatt-hour (kWh) and the customer's meter measures kWh. However, other rates contain charges for things that aren't measured directly by the customer's meters. Examples include the following:

Most gas meters measure consumption in cubic feet, but the charges in gas rates are expressed in therms.
A customer's service agreement may indicate that the number of kilowatts billed per month will be the greater of the measured kilowatts OR the minimum number of kilowatts as defined in the service agreement.
A customer's meter may only contain two registers: one that measures kWh consumed during peak hours, and another that measures kWh consumed during off peak hours. However, there are charges in the rate based on the total kWh consumed regardless of when the power was used.

All of these examples share the same trait: the unit of measure being priced is not the same as the unit of measure being measured. If any of your rates possess this trait, then you have to tell the system about it so that it knows to perform extra manipulations before it calculates charges.

So, how do you tell the system to manipulate measured consumption? You have two options:

Create a Service Quantity (SQ) Rule and link it to the rate schedule
Create a Register Rule and link it to the rate schedule

When a rate schedule has either type of rule, the system executes the rule's algorithm immediately before it calculates charges. The rule's algorithms manipulate measured consumption so that the rate is supplied with consumption in the manner that it expects.

You must understand the difference between these two types of rules before you can set them up. The following diagram describes how the two types of rules are used and this should help you understand the differences between them:

To manipulate measured consumption, create a Service Quantity Rule and link it to the rate schedule or Create a Register Rule and link it to the rate schedule.

Note:

Bottom line. Register rules are used when your rates require the manipulation of measured consumption and this manipulation requires attributes directly related to the service point, the meter, or the premise. SQ rules also manipulate measured consumption. However, this manipulation is done without regard to the individual service points or meters.

The following table defines which type of rule would be used for each of the earlier manipulation examples:


Situation	Type of Rule	Explanation
Cubic Feet (CCF) to Therm conversion	Register rule	A register rule is used because a given bill could contain many registers that measure CCF and each register could have a different therm conversion factor. If an SQ rule was used, a single conversion factor would be applied to the total CCF from all registers.
Minimum contract quantity	SQ rule	An SQ rule is used because we want to add together the total amount of consumption from all registers and then compare it to a contract quantity.
Add together peak and off peak consumption	SQ rule	An SQ rule is used because we want to add together the total amount of consumption from all registers.