Rate360 Learn
How electric rates actually get set
Utility ratemaking should not be a black box. These are clear, neutral guides to how the price of electricity is decided — for members, boards, journalists, and anyone asking why their bill looks the way it does. No sales pitch. Just the mechanics, explained.
How electric rates are set
The fundamentals — from the utility's total costs down to the charges on your bill.
How are electric rates set?
The whole three-step process in one place — start here for the big picture.
Read the guideWhat is a revenue requirement?
The total dollars a utility needs to collect — and what goes into that number.
Read the guideWhat is a cost-of-service study?
How that requirement gets divided fairly among customer classes.
Read the guideWhat is rate design?
Turning each class's share into the actual charges on a tariff.
Read the guideWhy your bill is changing
The forces reshaping utility costs right now — and what they mean for what you pay.
Why data centers change your bill
How large new loads reshape a utility's costs — and everyone's rates.
Read the guideElectrification, EVs, and your rates
Why the timing of new electric load matters more than the volume.
Read the guideWhy using less doesn't always lower your bill
The fixed-vs-variable cost split behind the 'use less, still pay more' effect.
Read the guideWhat is a rate case — and how to take part
How a rate change gets reviewed and approved, and how you can be heard.
Read the guideRun into a term you don't know? Browse the ratemaking glossary
Rate360 is the platform electric utilities and their advisors use to run cost-of-service studies and design defensible rates.
See the methodology