Evolution of electricity billing

Evolution of electricity billing

We can all agree on a new reality: the electricity generation matrix is ​​changing!

There is a much more diversified power generation portfolio. Solar and wind have gained space and changed the "whole package".

All of them, par excellence, renewable are more competitive than thermal plants, which still need to be available to face variations in wind, sun and river flows.

I propose an evolution: that customers have to contract a closed volume of energy per month. It would be a contracted demand multiplied by the hours of the month.

The charge would be for the closed volume, being to illustrate, here in Brazil, 70% based on the cost of renewable and 30% of thermal plants.

If the customer consumes less than the 70% to which he would be entitled in the package (renewable + thermal) he would only pay the renewable price (which is much lower). Between 70% and 100%, still following the same example, would be proportional between the renewable and thermal price.

Why win win?

The customer could develop a local ("distributed") generation which, if it had a lower cost than the thermal price, would reduce the energy bill. Simple, easy and on a month to month basis!

The power production chain would also gain because it would avoid dispatching thermal plants and, over time, would stop investing and installing new thermal plants that are very expensive because, they are dispatched only when necessary (renewable not being able to meet the system demand), which results in a very high unitary cost.