With the current rate structure, Members who use more energy generally pay disproportionately more for the demand charge than Members who consume less energy. This is because the demand charge is embedded into the energy rates. Therefore, when their energy consumption increases, the demand charge automatically increases, whether or not the Member has a high demand usage.
On the other hand, Members who have lower energy consumption generally pay less for the demand charge because it is built into the energy rates, even if their demand use is high. In effect, they are paying less than their fair share for using the OCEC system.
The new rate structure is designed to be more transparent and equitable. The goal is to ensure that all Members are paying their fair share of using the OCEC system, and that OCEC has a way to assign costs that are directly related to demand use, and not based exclusively on total energy consumption.