Multi-part Domestic Electrical Tariffs

Abstract

A PAPER under the title “Towards the 'Correct' Domestic Multi-Part Tariff” was read by P. Schiller before the Institution of Electrical Engineers in London on February 4. The author pointed out that the principle of multi-part costing and charging is again attaining particular importance in the intensive development of the domestic thermal load, which requires the unit charge component of multi-part tariffs to be reduced to the bare minimum. The necessary corollary of allocating to the standing-charge component the bulk of the actual standing costs involved in giving supply is impracticable with conventional two-part tariffs. At present the standing charge covers little more than the standing costs due to the demand for lighting and small domestic appliances, which is but a small fraction of the total demand of modern domestic installations. Hence the bulk of the standing costs due to the domestic thermal load must be averaged out on the unit-charge component.