CC0 · no sign-up · snapshot 2026-08-26
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583 rows · 22 columns · CSV
Household definitionsWhat the three modelled bills assume · CSV
What is in it
| Column | What it holds |
|---|---|
| urdb_label | The source record ID. Resolves at apps.openei.org/USURDB/rate/view/{label} |
| utility, eiaid, state | Who files the tariff and where |
| rate_name, zone | The plan, and the rate zone it applies to if the utility has them |
| rate_kind | time-of-use, standard, or demand-based |
| is_tiered, is_seasonal, has_demand_charge | Structure flags |
| service_class | typical, not-a-home, or unusual-fixed — see the caveat below |
| min_cents_kwh, max_cents_kwh | Range across all periods and tiers, adjustments included |
| peak_offpeak_ratio | Highest ÷ lowest, for plans that price by hour |
| fixed_charge_annual_usd | Standing charge, converted to a year from daily or monthly |
| billing_scope, effective_date | What the tariff covers, and when it took effect |
| annual_usd_apartment / _house / _house_with_ev | Modelled annual bill — see below |
| tariff_url, page_url | The filed document, and our page for the plan |
The three modelled bills
The last three columns are the part that is not in the source data. Each is the result of running a defined household through that tariff hour by hour for a full year — including the way air conditioning loads summer afternoons, electric heating loads winter mornings, and weekend schedules differ from weekdays.
| Profile | Assumes | Uses about |
|---|---|---|
| Apartment | One or two people, no central air, no electric heat | 4,900 kWh/yr |
| Family home | Three or four people with central air conditioning | 9,500 kWh/yr |
| Home with an EV | Same house, plus an electric car charging overnight | 13,100 kWh/yr |
These are estimates for comparing plans against each other, not predictions of a specific bill. Because the same household goes through every tariff, most of the modelling error cancels and what remains is the difference in rate structure — which is the thing worth measuring. They exclude taxes, local surcharges, demand charges, and net metering.
What was removed, and why
The source database contains a great deal more than this. A plan is here only if it is currently effective, open to new enrollment, and covers a whole bill rather than the delivery half. Roughly half of the residential records in the source fail one of those tests — mostly because they expired.
- Expired and closed plans are dropped. A grandfathered rate nobody can join is not an option, and mixing them in makes any “cheapest plan” answer wrong.
- Delivery-only tariffs are dropped. Their per-kWh prices look spectacularly cheap because they are half a bill. Why that matters.
- Non-household services are kept but flagged. Irrigation pumping, street lighting, master-metered buildings and large farm service are filed under the residential sector but do not describe a home. The
service_classcolumn marks them; we exclude them from our own comparisons and you probably should too.
unusual-fixed in service_class. Treat those rows as needing a look at tariff_url before use.License and reuse
The underlying tariffs are public domain via the NREL Utility Rate Database. Our parsing, filtering, classification and modelling are released under CC0 — use it for anything, commercially or not, with no attribution required. A link back is appreciated but not asked for.
If you build something with it we would like to hear about it: [email protected].
effective_date; cite that rather than the download date if you publish anything derived from it.