1 Getting Started
This guide is used during the Oracle Utilities Opower launch process to provide product design information, collect utility configuration preferences for the products being launched, and track the finalization of these preferences. The preferences are then used to set up your Oracle Utilities Opower products and platform.
This guide focuses on configuration preferences for the Oracle Utilities Opower Load Shifting, Rate Coach program. Note: This HTML documentation is for reference only. Your Delivery Team will give you an editable PDF or DOCX version of the document to capture your inputs.
Note:
Once submitted to Oracle Utilities, all utility inputs recorded in the configuration guides are final and cannot be modified. Ensure that all configuration inputs are accurate before submitting them.Product Overview
The Load Shifting Cloud Service, Rate Coach provides multiple features that facilitate peak hour and demand reduction and educate customers about electric plans with Time of Use (TOU) or demand rates. These features deliver load shifting insights to customers that educate them about how they are using electricity, and provide them with recommendations on how to shift or reduce their electric use in order to save money. By educating customers about their plans, these insights help customers reduce their spending and lower their monthly bills.
The Load Shifting Cloud Service, Rate Coach focuses on helping customers with interval data save money on their electric plans by providing them with insights specific to their rate plans. Customers with TOU electric plans are encouraged to shift their usage to off-peak hours. Customers with demand rate electric plans are encouraged to lower their demand. Utilities use TOU and demand rate plans to recover their costs, integrate distributed energy resources, and create a more equitable grid.
In a TOU plan, electricity costs fluctuate depending on the time of day, and how the utility defines peak, partial-peak, and off-peak hours. For example, peak hours might be defined as weekdays between 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM from May through September.
In a demand rate plan, customers typically have peak periods and pricing that are similar to a TOU plan, but they also incur a demand charge for their highest hour of peak usage during the billing period.
Additional Load Shifting Insights Available
These additional Load Shifting insights are available:
- Digital Self Service - Energy Management Cloud Service: Load Shifting insights are also available within the Data Browser and the Bill Comparison components of the Digital Self Service - Energy Management Cloud Service. These insights are available to customers with TOU energy plans. Utilities are not required to have the Load Shifting Cloud Service, Rate Coach to provide this information to their customers. See the Digital Self Service - Energy Management Cloud Service Overview for more information.
- Energy Efficiency Cloud Service: Load Shifting insights are also available in the Home Energy Report v2 and the Email Home Energy Report v2. For customers on a Time of Use rate plan, you can insert the Time of Use Daily Peak module into these communications to encourage utility customers to shift their energy usage to off-peak times. Utilities are not required to have the Load Shifting Cloud Service, Rate Coach to provide this information to their customers. See the Energy Efficiency Cloud Service Overview for more information.
For an overview of all cloud services available from Oracle Utilities, see the Oracle Energy and Water Cloud Service Descriptions online at Oracle Contracts - Cloud Service Descriptions.
Your utility might not have all of the products or features described in this document. Contact your Delivery Team if you have any questions.
Disclaimer
Your utility might not have all of the products or features described in this document. Contact your Delivery Team if you have any questions.