Utility Rate Analysis Features

Graphical Analysis Dashboard

You can develop and refine your analyses using Models by Toggles' graphical dashboard. You can simply change percentage rate adjustments and net debt proceeds by using sliders and/or data input areas, and review analytical impacts on graphics simultaneously. Models by Toggles offers 4 standard graphics depicting capital funding strategy, annual revenue requirements, and ending capital and operating fund balances against fund balance targets you established. In addition to these user controls and graphics, you can also enter system replacement funding phase-in strategy and policy transfers to/from your utility funds, non-utility funds, and rates depending on your modeling specifications.

Advanced Analysis Tables

If you prefer to use more detailed tables rather than graphical presentation, Models by Toggles also provides a tabular analysis interface. It works in tandem with graphic analysis dashboard, and both user interfaces are totally integrated. You can switch back and forth between them, anytime you want.

Generating Multiple Scenarios

You can easily generate multiple scenarios (up to 5 active scenarios) by using the model copy feature of Models by Toggles. Your model scenarios may differ in model properties, your data inputs, and your analytical solutions whatever you want to change except your analysis years and beginning fund balances. You can maintain these scenarios as separate analyses, and you do not need to purchase separate model licenses for your scenarios. Each model license already comes with scenario creation ability.

Working With Duplicates

Models by Toggles allows you to create duplicates of your existing models. Using this functionality, you can easily update your model(s) without redefining your model properties again. You can even reuse your data from prior analyses in your duplicates and substantially reduce your data entry time.

Transferring Analysis Results To Excel For Advanced Model

You can easily transfer your analysis results to Excel if you prefer to create your own graphics, tables, and reports. The Excel file generated by Models by Toggles will place each utility rate module on a separate Excel tab (sheet) and it will help you to identify user data inputs and model calculated values with a different color scheme.

Printing Analysis Results (Report)

You can print your entire analysis or any particular analysis section with a click of a button. Models by Toggles lets you customize print outs of your analysis results by uploading your logo and using standard version identifiers.

Fund Structure and Accounting

Models by Toggles uses 2 default funds; Operating Fund and a dedicated Capital Fund. Additionally, you can also use 4 other funds dedicated for specific predetermined purposes, such as debt reserve fund, connection charge fund, and so on...

Economic & Financial Factors

Models by Toggles allows you to work with as many factors as you want. You can define your customer growth rates, inflation rates, composite escalation factors, and funds earning rates; and vary each one of them by year if you need.

Revenues, And Operating & Maintenance Expenses (i.e. Operating Forecast)

You can enter your rate revenues, other operating revenues, and operating and maintenance expenses in your own budgeting/reporting format, and as detailed as you want. For each revenue and expenditure line item Models by Toggles lets you select the appropriate escalation factor from your own list. You can also tell Models and Toggles applicable state and local taxes for each revenue line item you entered.

Taxes

Models by Toggles allows you to use up to 4 state and 2 local taxes. You can use the default tax calculation methodology by matching your defined taxes with your revenue line item entries.

Capital Improvement Program (CIP)

Models by Toggles allows you provide your capital improvement program in various formats and workspace data you might need to develop your own unique and customized rate analysis such as allocation of workspace cost between expansion and repair and replacement (R&R), assumed useful life, and available outside funding sources.

Debt Instruments

You can define up to 10 different debt instruments to use in your analyses and provide specific debt characteristics for each instrument separately such as coverage requirement, debt reserve requirement and issuance cost. You can also determine your interest rates, maturity, interest only period for each instrument.

Capital Financing Strategy

You can develop and customize your capital funding sources by using a detailed menu of selections on connection charge, system replacement funding, and outside funding sources in addition to available fund balances and debt instruments you define. Models by Toggles uses a default ranking of available sources from the lowest cost to the highest; and capital funding strategy is developed using lower cost one first.

Add-ON Packages For Advanced Model

You can simply upgrade your model and use any of the below add-ON packages to add further features and functionalities to your utility rate model.

Expanded Fund Structure

In addition to do the selection of funds offered in the standard package, you can use 2 predetermined specific purpose funds, namely system replacement fund and rate stabilization fund, and 2 additional undefined funds you can structure as you need.

Policy Choice (Fund) Transfers

Expanded Operating Forecast Package

With this Add-ON package, you can overwrite model calculated operating revenue and expenditure line items by user input to account for known or projected future changes in your revenues and/or expenditures. You can also provide additional operating and maintenance (O&M) impacts of future programmatic and level of service changes, and O&M impacts of your capital improvement program over and above your existing budget or service level.

Expanded Debt Instruments Package

This package enables you to

provide user-defined debt repayment schedule for the debt instruments/issues you selected,
use varying applicability of issuance cost by debt issues, work with differing issuance cost calculation methodology and accounting
provide differing coverage requirement for individual debt issues and for each analysis year,
use varying applicability of reserve requirement by debt issues, work with differing reserve requirement calculation methodology and accounting,
use different issuance time for your selected debt issues.

Expanded Capital Funding Package

This Add-ON provides further options for capital financing modeling by allowing you to use connection charge revenues and system replacement funding proceeds in capital financing as they collected in current analysis year, and use proceeds from an existing or committed debt issues.

Capital Financing Hierarchy Configuration

When activated, this package allows you to change default capital financing hierarchy, and reconfigure the prioritization of financing sources in paying for capital expenses by amazingly simple "drag and drop" moves. Models by Toggles Rate Model dynamically updates and reconfigures extremely complex formulations in the background for you.