Why do electric space heating rates matter?
Electric space heating technologies have advanced significantly in recent years, making electric space heating options more efficient, affordable, and effective in cold climates. Today, 电动空气源热泵(ASHPs)可以向家庭提供比其消耗的电能多三到四倍的热能. 这是可能的，因为热泵将热量从一个地方转移到另一个地方，而不是直接产生热量, as combustion and electric resistance heating technologies do. Based on our field tests, 冷气候空气源热泵模式可以提供空间加热到室外温度 -13 degrees Fahrenheit.
As greenhouse gas emissions of Minnesota’s electric system continue to decline, becoming emissions-free by 2040, electric space heating is a powerful tool for decarbonizing our state’s economy. As mentioned in a prior blog post on natural gas decarbonization, 大约三分之二的明尼苏达州人在冬季用天然气取暖，自2005年以来，天然气产生的温室气体排放量增加了32%以上. 随着明尼苏达州寻求脱碳，减少空间供暖的天然气消耗至关重要.
不幸的是，在目前的费率结构下，用电供暖的空间可以显著 increase customers’ energy bills. 从历史上看，天然气一直是比电力更便宜的家庭供暖燃料来源, posing a major barrier for customers to electrify some or all their home heating.
特殊的电空间加热速率是部署高效电空间加热技术的重要一步. 较低的电力空间采暖费率将承认电力空间采暖客户的额外负荷以及电力和双燃料空间采暖负荷的系统效益, enabling cost-effective operation. 住宅电空间采暖率降低了高效、低排放的住宅采暖技术(如空气源热泵)的运营成本, making them a feasible and cost-effective option for Minnesota customers.
电空间供暖费率为用电供暖的客户提供了较低的电费. This cost differential is important for several reasons:
- 电供暖用户的用电负荷比明尼苏达州的普通用户要高得多，而且按标准费率支付的费用远远超过他们在固定电力系统成本中所占的公平份额.
Electric utility bills 主要由两部分组成:电费(通常称为燃料费)和公用事业费率. Each customer pays based on the total amount of electricity consumed. 公用事业费率加在电力成本之上，使公用事业公司能够收回基础设施(传输)的成本, distribution, and utility-owned generation assets), 以及公用事业公司运行系统和为客户服务所产生的成本. 公用事业公司的大部分费率是由成本组成的，这些成本并不根据消耗或销售的电量而变化.
用最简单的术语来说，公用事业公司通过估算每个客户类别(住宅)的系统和操作的总成本来确定其费率, commercial, and industrial) and spreading that cost evenly across it. In Minnesota, most utility costs are recovered on a volumetric basis through rates, 因此，公用事业公司必须将每位客户的年度公用事业成本除以该客户类别的年平均用电量，以得到适当的单位电量(千瓦时)费率。. 如果同一类别的客户使用相似的电力，这种方法将导致公用事业成本在客户之间的公平分配. 当班上的一些客户使用或多或少的能源时，这种方法就不那么公平了. In that case, some customers may pay much more than their fair share of utility system costs, while others pay far less.
Residential electric space heating customers, 包括使用电热泵作为主要热源并使用煤气炉作为备用热源的双燃料空间供暖客户, 使用煤气炉和标准空调的标准住宅用户的用电量为160%至700%. As such, 如果使用电供暖的住宅客户支付与标准住宅客户相同的费率, they would pay up to seven times more for utility system costs, far more than their fair share.
至关重要的是，公用事业公司提供的电空间供暖费率要考虑到电空间供暖客户的额外负荷, 以确保这些客户不会为电力系统和运营支付过高的费用. 而电空间供暖的客户将支付更多的燃料费用, and thus have higher overall electricity bills, 他们应该为公用事业系统固定成本和一般业务贡献相同的总额.
- The space heating rate enables cost-effective efficient fuel switching, in this instance, the customer choice to switch from gas to electric space heating. 如果运营成本太高，客户将不太可能或无法从天然气空间供暖转换为电力空间供暖.
- Electric space heating increases the load for electric utilities, especially at times of the year when low-cost renewables are most plentiful. First, electric space heating increases overall electric load. This allows the utility to spread its fixed costs across more sales, bringing down rates for all customers over time. Second, 客户使用电热泵供暖为电力系统提供了许多额外的好处. ASHPs provide space cooling far more efficiently than a standard air conditioner, reducing summer peak demand. ASHPs, when paired with a back-up gas furnace, use more electricity in the shoulder seasons (fall and spring), when Minnesota’s wind resources are most productive. Wind is our lowest-cost electricity resource (next to energy efficiency), 因此，在我们的资源组合中增加更多的低成本风能，可以降低所有客户的燃料成本, too. Finally, 热泵与备用煤气炉配对不会增加或增加冬季高峰需求，因为煤气炉在冬季最冷的时间运行，而不是电热泵.
At CEE, 我们认为，向客户提供降低的电力空间供暖费率是很重要的，以认识到增加的空间供暖负荷，并鼓励使用高效的电力HVAC系统，减少排放，使电网受益. 靠谱的外围竞猜app电力供暖费率的新建议，就像Xcel能源公司最近在其 Time of Use Rate Design petition (提交明尼苏达州公用事业委员会第23-524号卷宗)将加强对使用天然气供暖的客户的电热泵的价值主张. 随着明尼苏达州寻求提高供暖效率，电力供暖费率是解决方案的关键部分, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase access to clean energy, and affordably and equitably provide heating services in the winter.