rmi-electrification-rate-design-analysis-assumptions-66a0b39b031ddf3e.pdf

This document outlines the analytical methodology and specific utility-level assumptions used by RMI to estimate changes in residential utility bills under various tariff structures during electrification. The analysis utilizes NREL's ResStock dataset for building load profiles and integrates tariff data from Genability and RateAcuity, with specific adjustments made for utilities in Minnesota, Maryland, Maine, and Massachusetts to ensure consistency and accuracy in bill calculations.

• RMI estimates residential utility bill changes by combining representative building load data from NREL’s ResStock dataset (specifically the 2024.2 release and upgrade scenario 2 for high efficiency cold-climate air-to-air heat pumps with electric backup) with tariff data from Genability for electric rates and RateAcuity for gas rates. The process involves mapping building samples to utility territories and applying 2025 average state-level delivered fuel prices from the Energy Information Administration for fuel oil and propane.
• For Xcel Energy in Minnesota, RMI manually adjusted percent-based interim rate adjustment surcharges to prevent overapplication, assuming these surcharges do not apply to specific components including the Affordability Surcharge, Renewable Energy Standard Adjustment, Renewable Development Fund, Mercury Cost Recovery, Environmental Improvement Charge, and Conservation Improvement Program Adjustment. Additionally, a recreated CenterPoint Residential Sales Gas Tariff for 2025 included an average monthly city-specific franchise fee of $3.40 per customer.
• In the analysis of Pepco Maryland, RMI created a hypothetical 'default' flat rate with consistent volumetric charges to serve as a reference point against the existing 'electrification-friendly' rate, which features seasonally differentiated volumetric charges. This flat rate was derived by dividing the total revenue collected by the utility in the residential class by total annual kWh consumption, based on data from rate case 9820 before the Maryland Public Service Commission.
• RMI estimated heat pump enrollment in 'electrification-friendly' rates using different methods per territory: for Central Maine Power, it used a ratio of utility customers to state electricity customers and reported 2025 enrollment of nearly 9,000 customers (assuming 10,000 for the analysis); for Pepco Maryland, it used EIA RECS data; and for Eversource Massachusetts and Xcel Minnesota, it used Genability data, estimating total heat pump customers to be 10% higher than those enrolled in the rates.

APA

RMI (n.d.). rmi-electrification-rate-design-analysis-assumptions-66a0b39b031ddf3e.pdf. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2026/06/RMI-Electrification-Rate-Design-Analysis-Assumptions.pdf

Chicago

RMI. rmi-electrification-rate-design-analysis-assumptions-66a0b39b031ddf3e.pdf. n.d. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2026/06/RMI-Electrification-Rate-Design-Analysis-Assumptions.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=rmi-electrification-rate-design-analysis-assumptions-66a0b39b031ddf3e.pdf |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2026/06/RMI-Electrification-Rate-Design-Analysis-Assumptions.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmindrmielectrificationratedesignanalysisassumptions66a0b39b031ddf3epdf, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{rmi-electrification-rate-design-analysis-assumptions-66a0b39b031ddf3e.pdf}}, institution = {RMI}, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2026/06/RMI-Electrification-Rate-Design-Analysis-Assumptions.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }