With or without deregulation, commercial and industrial electricity customers should expect to see increases in charges for peak kW demand, especially in older urban areas and those far from main transmission grids. Building and plant operators may wish to conduct a demand-response audit to assess options for controlling peak demand to be ready for future demand rate increases.
Changes in wholesale power pricing structures are being pushed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Where already applied (mostly in northeastern states), hourly power pricing jumps in areas when transmission gets congested and/or where expensive generation must be used during peak demand periods.