What is assumed about this Delaware opening?
This is a hypothetical new hotel in Delmarva Power’s Delaware electric territory. There is no property identity, client, construction project, supplier offer, or observed result. Assume the permanent hotel meter is properly authorized and energized on the first day of a 31-day teaching month. Guest opening is scheduled for day 11. Supplier enrollment is a separate milestone tested through alternative assumed start dates.
Delaware PSC’s electric-choice guidance, reviewed October 12, 2026, identifies Delmarva electric customers as the current scope of the choice option and distinguishes supply from utility delivery. It does not establish choice for every Delaware municipality, cooperative, or gas account. The example assumes the relevant account is eligible after verification.
An opening-stage energy forecast allocates quantity to commissioning, initial guest operation, and a later operating stage using explicit dates and assumptions. The bills hub provides the broader bill framework. Meter readiness, physical service, available rooms, supplier acceptance, and active supply should remain distinct records rather than one assumed opening date.
How do the planned opening quantities reconcile?
Assume the first ten days use 500 kWh daily for commissioning and staff activity, producing 5,000 kWh. Assume the next 15 days use 2,500 kWh daily after initial guest opening, producing 37,500. Assume the final six days use 3,500 kWh daily after a further operating ramp, producing 21,000. The days total 31 and the quantities total 63,500 kWh.
These are invented daily loads, not equipment estimates or typical consumption for a new hotel. In practice, testing, contractor activity, equipment faults, weather, and opening services can change the profile. Retain a competent forecast and observed readings as they become available. A room count alone cannot establish commissioning energy before guests arrive.
For occupancy, assume 100 available rooms, no paid occupied nights during commissioning, 60% occupancy for the 15 initial operating days, and 80% for the final six. Occupied room nights are zero + 100 × 15 × 60% + 100 × six × 80% = 1,380. The occupancy period matches the 31-day energy model.
| Assumed opening stage | Days | Daily electricity | Stage electricity | Occupied room nights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commissioning | 10 | 500 kWh | 5,000 kWh | 0 |
| Initial guest operation | 15 | 2,500 kWh | 37,500 kWh | 900 |
| Later operating ramp | 6 | 3,500 kWh | 21,000 kWh | 480 |
| Total | 31 | Varies | 63,500 kWh | 1,380 |
Which supply components are assumptions?
Assume a utility comparison component of $0.110 per kWh and a replacement supplier component of $0.090. Both are invented and cover equivalent items solely for the exercise. They are not Delmarva’s current price, a supplier quotation, or a forecast. Delivery, demand, taxes, riders, fixed charges, and other items are excluded.
Assume the listed supplier component includes any embedded brokerage compensation, and no separate fee is modeled. For a real comparison, obtain the amount or calculation method and whether compensation is embedded or separate. Include it once. A new-meter process does not establish that an offer’s quoted component covers every opening-related cost.
Delmarva’s March 2025 Delaware supplier-choice fact sheet includes questions about price, charges, contract expiry, enrollment information, and when supply begins. It supplies utility-specific purchasing context, not processing deadlines or this example’s price inputs. Request actual confirmations for the permanent account.
What do timely and delayed enrollment scenarios cost?
Scenario A assumes the replacement component is confirmed active from day one. All 63,500 kWh cost 63,500 × $0.090 = $5,715. The assumption includes commissioning quantity. If a real agreement begins only after the guest opening, its price should not be applied to earlier consumption without the actual enrollment and billing treatment.
Scenario B assumes replacement begins on day 11. The first 5,000 kWh cost $550 at the utility comparison component, and the remaining 58,500 cost $5,265 at replacement. Total components are $5,815, or $100 above Scenario A. The difference reconciles as 5,000 × ($0.110 − $0.090).
Scenario C assumes replacement begins on day 26, after commissioning and the 15 initial operating days. The first 42,500 kWh cost $4,675, and the final 21,000 cost $1,890. Total components are $6,565, or $850 above timely enrollment. All-utility components would be 63,500 × $0.110 = $6,985. These are teaching differences, not demonstrated savings or delays.
What changes when guest opening moves five days later?
Assume commissioning now lasts 15 days, initial guest operation lasts the next 15, and only day 31 reaches the later ramp. Energy becomes 15 × 500 = 7,500 kWh, plus 15 × 2,500 = 37,500, plus one × 3,500 = 3,500. Total quantity is 48,500 kWh. The daily stage assumptions are unchanged; the calendar allocation has changed.
Keep Scenario C’s assumed supplier start on day 26 to isolate guest-opening sensitivity. The first 25 days contain 15 commissioning days and ten initial operating days: 7,500 + 25,000 = 32,500 kWh. The last six contain five initial days and one ramp day: 12,500 + 3,500 = 16,000. Those portions reconcile to 48,500.
Utility components cost 32,500 × $0.110 = $3,575, and replacement components cost 16,000 × $0.090 = $1,440. Total components are $5,015. This is $1,550 below Scenario C’s original $6,565 because assumed activity changed. It should not be attributed to a better supplier component, which has not changed.
How does the opening delay affect the room-night ratio?
Under the later opening, occupied room nights are 100 × 15 × 60% + 100 × one × 80% = 980. The $5,015 component divided by 980 gives approximately $5.12 per occupied room night. The original Scenario C ratio was $6,565 ÷ 1,380, or about $4.76. Total dollars fell while the ratio rose because the denominator fell more sharply.
These are isolated supply-component ratios, not total hotel energy cost per occupied room. Include matching energy and occupancy periods and state the cost boundary. Commissioning quantities contribute to the numerator without creating paid room nights, so the opening month should not be treated as a stable operating benchmark.
DOE’s energy information system guidance describes tracking and investigation capabilities. Use dated meter readings, commissioning logs, available-room records, and actual operating changes to replace teaching assumptions. A sudden quantity change can be a forecast issue or equipment question; the ratio alone cannot identify its cause.
What meter and agreement evidence must be confirmed?
Match the permanent service address, utility account, meter or service-point identifier, legal customer, and authorized signer. Do not assume construction-service records identify the permanent hotel account. Keep any temporary account, permanent account, and supplier schedule distinguishable until the utility and provider reconcile them. The example asserts no universal processing sequence or deadline.
DOE’s utility-rate evaluation guidance supports reviewing the actual load and rate structure. New-meter classification, demand treatment, limited history, and applicable riders can affect the opening bill. Verify them through actual provider records rather than importing a nearby hotel’s tariff or the worksheet’s simplified price boundary.
Read forecast, volume, start-date, notice, and amendment terms before accepting an offer. A delayed opening can reduce quantity without changing a supply obligation. Conversely, a delayed enrollment can leave commissioning or guest-operation energy under another component. Retain written treatment and confirmation instead of assuming a signed proposal makes every modeled date effective.
What should the opening decision file contain?
- Verified permanent account identifiers, legal customer, authority, and utility service confirmations.
- A staged operating forecast with days, quantities, available rooms, and stated assumptions.
- Equivalent components with compensation disclosed and counted once.
- Timely enrollment, delayed enrollment, and later-opening scenarios that reconcile exactly.
- Actual supplier start confirmation and any contract changes required by delayed operations.
- First-invoice reconciliation and an exception log while observed activity replaces the forecast.
The five-property purchasing example adds account coordination. The Michigan choice example adds restricted access, and the Ohio holdover example adds expiry timing. Each requires its own account evidence; none supplies a processing promise for this hypothetical Delaware opening.