Maximum Demand Charge Rates for Residential, Commercial and Industrial Electricity Tariffs in the United States
National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) has assembled a list of U.S. retail electricity tariffs and their associated demand charge rates for the Residential, Commercial and Industrial sectors. The data was obtained from the Utility Rate Database (URDB). Keep the following information in mind when interpreting the data:
(1) The dataset contains maximum demand charges for individual tariffs. The value represents the maximum demand charge value, looking across an entire year. The demand charge calculation for a given tariff may vary across the course of a year. Only the maximum value is shown in this dataset. The maximum may be significantly different at other times in the year.
(2) If a tariff has multiple demand charge elements that are added together to calculate the total demand charge, the value presented is the sum of the elements. For example, if there is a demand charge element that is applied year round and a separate seasonal or time-varying element that is applied in addition to the year round element, then these are added together to calculate the maximum demand charge value presented in this dataset.
(3) In cases where tariffs have different tiers, the highest rate tier was assumed.
(4) This dataset only contains tariffs that are entered into the Utility Rate Database. Not all tariffs in the United States are in the URDB. The URDB is updated periodically and some tariffs may have changed since the URDB was last updated.
(5) The data in the URDB were interpreted and transcribed manually from utility tariff sheets, which are often complex. It is possible that URDB entries have errors. As such, these data should only be used as a reference. Actual utility tariff sheets should be consulted if decisions are being made that rely on high levels of accuracy.
(6) The URDB contains several industrial rates that are above $100/kW under certain conditions (e.g., above a certain demand level), but these are not applicable to most customers and were omitted from this dataset since they are outliers.
(7) Coincident demand charges may only be issued if a customer peak period overlaps with the utility-defined peak period. Consult the tariff sheet for
details about how and when demand charge elements are applicable.
Resources
4 resources available
-
2017 Maximum demand charge rates for commercial and industrial electricity tariffs in the United States
HTML -
URDB - Utility Rate Database
HTML -
The Evolving Role of Demand Charges in Retail Electricity Rates
PDF -
Demand Charge Rate Data - May 2026.xlsx
XLSX
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Complete Metadata
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|---|---|
| accessLevel | public |
| bureauCode |
[ "019:20" ] |
| contactPoint |
{ "fn": "Joyce McLaren", "@type": "vcard:Contact", "hasEmail": "mailto:joyce.mclaren@nlr.gov" } |
| dataQuality |
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|
| description | National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) has assembled a list of U.S. retail electricity tariffs and their associated demand charge rates for the Residential, Commercial and Industrial sectors. The data was obtained from the Utility Rate Database (URDB). Keep the following information in mind when interpreting the data: (1) The dataset contains maximum demand charges for individual tariffs. The value represents the maximum demand charge value, looking across an entire year. The demand charge calculation for a given tariff may vary across the course of a year. Only the maximum value is shown in this dataset. The maximum may be significantly different at other times in the year. (2) If a tariff has multiple demand charge elements that are added together to calculate the total demand charge, the value presented is the sum of the elements. For example, if there is a demand charge element that is applied year round and a separate seasonal or time-varying element that is applied in addition to the year round element, then these are added together to calculate the maximum demand charge value presented in this dataset. (3) In cases where tariffs have different tiers, the highest rate tier was assumed. (4) This dataset only contains tariffs that are entered into the Utility Rate Database. Not all tariffs in the United States are in the URDB. The URDB is updated periodically and some tariffs may have changed since the URDB was last updated. (5) The data in the URDB were interpreted and transcribed manually from utility tariff sheets, which are often complex. It is possible that URDB entries have errors. As such, these data should only be used as a reference. Actual utility tariff sheets should be consulted if decisions are being made that rely on high levels of accuracy. (6) The URDB contains several industrial rates that are above $100/kW under certain conditions (e.g., above a certain demand level), but these are not applicable to most customers and were omitted from this dataset since they are outliers. (7) Coincident demand charges may only be issued if a customer peak period overlaps with the utility-defined peak period. Consult the tariff sheet for details about how and when demand charge elements are applicable. |
| distribution |
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| identifier | https://data.openei.org/submissions/8685 |
| issued | 2026-05-04T06:00:00Z |
| keyword |
[ "EIA", "URDB", "United States", "charge rate", "coincident", "commercial", "data", "demand charge", "distribution capactiy", "electric power industry", "electricity", "energy", "energy analysis", "grid modernization", "industrial", "maximum", "power", "rates", "renewable energy", "residential", "service territories", "tariff", "utilities", "utility rate" ] |
| landingPage | https://data.openei.org/submissions/8685 |
| license | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| modified | 2026-07-14T18:39:42Z |
| programCode |
[ "019:000" ] |
| projectNumber |
"52599"
|
| projectTitle | Demand Charges in the Electricity Sector |
| publisher |
{ "name": "National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR)", "@type": "org:Organization" } |
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| title | Maximum Demand Charge Rates for Residential, Commercial and Industrial Electricity Tariffs in the United States |
