The Transformer - Decoupling 101: Breaking the link between energy sales and utility revenue

Decoupling is a deceptively simple concept: “decouple” a utility’s bottom line from the amount of energy it sells through periodic rate adjustments – upward to make up for losses from reduced sales, or downward to reflect any “windfall” revenues from higher-than-expected sales. This issue of The Transformer looks more closely at decoupling, its pros and cons, the barriers to its widespread adoption, and recent progress toward inclusion of decoupling mechanisms in Northwest utilities’ rate cases.