Edit a project's current and future utility rates to better match what your customer pays. You can add a per-kWh charge, change how the utility credits solar exports, or turn on a discount program like CARE. Your edits stay with the project and don't change the rate in your Database.
In this article:
- Before you begin
- Where your edits apply
- Edit a rate
- What you can change
- Compensation policy
- Undo your edits
- FAQ
- Related articles
Before you begin
- Your role needs Edit access for Utility rate adjustments in Settings > Roles. See User Management: Advanced Roles.
- Choose the right rate first. On the project's Energy usage page, selecting a different rate removes your edits, even if you switch back.
- Supplier tariffs in Great Britain are view-only. See Selecting electricity tariffs in Great Britain.
Where your edits apply
Where you open a rate decides which designs your edits affect. When you click Edit, a message at the bottom of the panel confirms it.
| Where you open the rate | Rate | Edits apply to |
|---|---|---|
| Project > Energy usage | Current rate | All designs on the project |
| Project > Energy usage | Future rate | New designs only |
| Design Mode > Bill savings | Pre-solar rate | All designs on the project |
| Design Mode > Bill savings | Post-solar rate | This design only |
| Sales Mode > Project details | Future rate | This design only |
Design Mode and Sales Mode share a design's post-solar rate, so an edit in one shows in the other.
Edit a rate
From the project
- Open the project and click Energy usage.
- Under Grid electricity, click View rate next to Current rate or Future rate.
- Click Edit.
- Change the settings you need. See What you can change.
- Click Save.
The bill on the Energy usage page updates after you save.
Important: If you entered usage in dollars ($ under Input units), editing the Current rate can change the customer's calculated kWh usage. Aurora converts the bill amounts to kWh using that rate. Check Annual energy after you save.
In Design Mode
- Open the design in Design Mode.
- Click Bill savings in the top bar.
- Click View pre-solar rate or View post-solar rate.
- Click Edit.
- Make your changes.
- Click Save.
- Click Simulate system in the top bar to update the bill.
In Sales Mode
- Open the design in Sales Mode.
- Click the Project details icon in the top bar.
- On the Energy usage tab, click Edit energy profile.
- Click View rate next to Current rate or Future rate.
- Click Edit.
- Make your changes.
- Click Save.
Note: Clicking Save in the rate panel saves your rate edits right away. Clicking Cancel on the energy profile doesn't undo them.
What you can change
The rate panel has three tabs. Each tab shows the utility's values, and you can edit only some of them.
Import rate
This tab shows what the customer pays for grid electricity. You can change two settings.
Adjustment $ per kWh adds an amount to the utility's rate, such as a supplier's generation charge, and Total $ per kWh shows the result. Use a negative number to lower the rate. Each tier in each period has its own Adjustment, so enter it in every row it applies to.
Billing frequency can be Annual or Monthly, to match the utility's billing.
Fixed charge, Minimum bill, the base rates, tier limits, and the Weekday schedule and Weekend schedule are view-only. To change them, create a custom rate. See How do I add a custom residential utility rate?
Export rate
This tab shows how the utility credits solar energy sent to the grid.
-
Export rate:
- Retail rate: the same price the customer pays for grid electricity.
- Retail rate with fixed reduction: the retail rate minus the Fixed reduction you enter, in $ per kWh.
- Retail rate with percent reduction: the retail rate minus the Percent reduction you enter.
- Fixed export rate: the Fixed export rate you enter, in $ per kWh.
- Schedule: export credits that come with the utility rate. The panel doesn't show them.
- True-up period: how often the utility cancels out unused export credits, Annual or Monthly.
- True-up month: the month the true-up happens.
- Net surplus compensation: the credit per kWh for excess generation left at the end of the true-up period.
- Compensation payment: Cash or Credit.
Fixed reduction, Percent reduction, and Fixed export rate start at 0, so enter your utility's value.
Rate details
This tab lists the utility's programs and eligibility options, such as Is FERA Customer, Has CARE Discount, and Daily Medical Allowance. Options differ by rate, and changing one can change the rate's prices. Hover an option's info icon for details. You can't change Territory.
Warning: Changing rate details resets all other edits to the rate, including adjustments. Change rate details first, click Save, and then make your other changes.
Compensation policy
Compensation policy sets how the utility pays for a design's energy exports. It's in Design Mode under Bill savings, and changes apply only to that design.
With Net billing, Aurora calculates savings from the pre-solar and post-solar rates. With Feed-in tariff, Aurora credits all the energy the system produces at a tariff rate, and the customer buys the electricity they use at the pre-solar rate. Feed-in tariff replaces the Post-solar rate with tariff fields, including a Rate in $ per kWh that starts at 0.
After you change the policy, click Simulate system in the top bar to update the bill.
Undo your edits
To undo edits to a rate you opened from the project's Energy usage page:
- Click View rate next to the rate.
- Click Restore original.
- Click Restore to confirm.
Restore original appears only when the rate has saved edits, so you can use it to check whether someone changed a project rate.
A design's Post-solar rate doesn't have Restore original. To undo edits there, change the values back and click Save.
FAQ
Why doesn't my design use the rate I edited?
Edits to the project's Future rate apply only to new designs. To change a design you already created, edit its rate in Design Mode or Sales Mode.
My customer is on CARE. How do I model that?
On the rate, open Rate details, turn on Has CARE Discount, and click Save. Not every rate offers CARE, so check both the current and future rate.
Can I change the fixed charge or time-of-use hours?
Not on a project. Those values come from the utility rate. To use different values, create a custom rate.
Why doesn't the rate match my customer's bill?
Aurora builds the rate from a full calendar year of utility data, so it can differ from one bill. Taxes and fees that aren't part of the rate can also cause differences.