Danville Utilities (City of Danville, Virginia) Rate Selection Guide
Danville Utilities is a municipal multi-service utility (electric, water, gas) serving 42,984 electric customers across 500 square miles of south-central Virginia. Unusually for a city this size, it runs one of the more progressive municipal data programs: Green Button Connect My Data with OAuth 2.0 and SFTP delivery, a published CIS Infinity REST API with Swagger documentation, and a formal third-party registration pathway — making automated C&I data integration genuinely feasible.
Market Overview
Danville Utilities is a city-owned municipal utility providing bundled electric, water, and gas service in south-central Virginia. Customers take regulated municipal service; there is no retail choice, and the city sets rates through its CIS Infinity rate engine supporting unlimited rate structure configurations.
Need to pull your actual usage data to compare rates? See the Danville Utilities (City of Danville, Virginia) Data Access Guide →
Current Rate Schedules
Danville Utilities sets electric and gas rates by city ordinance. The electric rate book ladders nonresidential service by demand: SGS (Rate 40, energy-only until demand exceeds 25 kW three times in 12 months), three MGS schedules (Rates 50/55/56) with $13.14-$14.50/kW demand charges, three LGS schedules (Rates 60/65/66, demand over 500 kW) at $17.25-$17.50/kW, and a High Load Factor schedule that drops demand to $6.50/kW for loads over 1,500 kW with 70%+ annual load factor. A Power Cost Adjustment (PCA, ~$0.01-0.02/kWh historically) rides on all kWh, and voluntary TOU variants exist at the residential, SGS, and MGS levels. Natural gas (effective August 1, 2023) offers Firm Commercial (Schedule 20), Interruptible Commercial (Schedule 25, 15,000+ therms/month), Firm and Interruptible Industrial (Schedules 30/40), an industrial hedging option (Schedule 45), and Transportation Service (Schedule 50) — all subject to the Purchased Gas Adjustment rider.
Effective: August 1, 2023 · Full Tariff Book →
| Schedule | Type | Applicability | Structure | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rate SGS (Schedule 40) – Small General Service | commercial | Small commercial accounts; moved to MGS Rate 50 if demand exceeds 25 kW more than three times in 12 months | Customer charge ~$52/month; energy $0.1190/kWh with no demand charge; plus PCA. Demand measured on 15-minute intervals once metered. Voluntary TOU-40 variant available. | $0.119/kWh + PCA |
| Rates MGS-1/2/3 (Schedules 50/55/56) – Medium General Service | commercial | Demand-metered commercial accounts above 25 kW, below LGS thresholds; variants by metering/transformer configuration | MGS-1: $125 customer charge, $14.50/kW demand, $0.0665/kWh. MGS-2: $75, $13.14/kW, $0.0589/kWh. MGS-3: $150, $14.50/kW, $0.0687/kWh. All plus PCA; demand billed on highest 15-minute interval. Voluntary TOU-50 variant: $136 customer charge, $11.27/kW, seasonal on/off-peak energy. | —+ $13.14-$14.50/kW |
| Rates LGS-1/2/3 (Schedules 60/65/66) – Large General Service | industrial | Demand over 500 kW; LGS-1 secondary meter, LGS-2 primary meter with customer equipment, LGS-3 primary meter with utility-owned transformer | LGS-1: $500 customer charge, $17.50/kW, $0.060/kWh. LGS-2: $500, $17.25/kW, $0.0583/kWh. LGS-3: $450, $17.50/kW, $0.060/kWh. All plus PCA. Customers under 500 kW may contract with a 500 kW minimum demand charge. | —+ $17.25-$17.50/kW |
| High Load Factor (HLF) Service | industrial | Demand over 1,500 kW with load factor exceeding 70% over one year; primary meter, utility-owned transformer; sub-1,500 kW customers may contract at a 1,500 kW minimum | $800 customer charge; demand $6.50/kW — roughly a third of LGS levels — with market-based energy pricing plus PCA. Built for continuous-process industrial loads. | Market-based energy+ $6.50/kW |
| Schedule 20 – Firm Commercial Gas Service | commercial | Firm commercial natural gas customers | $24.30/month customer charge; distribution $0.2585/therm first 5,000 therms, $0.2310/therm above; plus the Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA) commodity rider. Effective August 1, 2023. | — |
| Schedules 25/40/45/50 – Interruptible, Hedging & Transport Gas | industrial | Schedule 25: commercial 15,000+ therms/month; Schedule 40: interruptible industrial; Schedule 45: industrial 50,000+ therms/month with hedging option; Schedule 50: transportation (customer-owned gas) | Schedule 25: $375 customer charge, seasonal distribution $0.1050-$0.1560/therm. Schedule 40: $550 charge, $0.1032/therm. Schedule 45: $475 charge, $0.150/therm first 400,000 therms then $0.075, customer directs hedge purchases. Schedule 50 transport: $375 charge, $0.1450/therm delivery, customer procures own commodity. | $0.075-$0.156/therm distribution |
Rate Recommendations by Use Case
Continuous-process manufacturing (textiles, plastics, data centers)
The High Load Factor schedule is Danville's headline industrial offer: $6.50/kW demand versus $17.50 on LGS for loads over 1,500 kW running at 70%+ load factor.
A 2,000 kW continuous load saves roughly $22,000/month in demand charges on HLF vs LGS-1. Combined with market-based energy and Danville's economic development posture, HLF makes the city competitive for 24/7 industrial loads.
- Verify your trailing-12-month load factor exceeds 70% before electing HLF
- Sub-1,500 kW operations can contract at the 1,500 kW minimum — model whether the floor still beats LGS
- Take primary-voltage delivery with the utility-owned transformer per the schedule terms
Mid-size commercial: grocery, healthcare, distribution (25-500 kW)
MGS accounts choose among three metering configurations and a voluntary TOU option — the configuration choice alone moves the demand charge between $13.14 and $14.50/kW.
MGS-2 (Schedule 55) carries the lowest customer charge ($75), lowest demand rate ($13.14/kW), and lowest energy rate ($0.0589/kWh) of the three MGS variants. TOU-50 drops the demand rate to $11.27/kW for facilities that can avoid summer on-peak energy pricing.
- Ask Danville Utilities which MGS variant your metering configuration qualifies for — the differences are material
- Model TOU-50 with your interval data if you can shift load off summer peak windows
- Manage the 15-minute peak: each avoided kW saves $13-14.50/month year-round
Small storefronts and offices approaching 25 kW
SGS keeps billing simple at $0.119/kWh with no demand charge — but tripping the 25 kW threshold three times in a year forces a move to MGS.
The SGS-to-MGS transfer is double-edged: MGS halves the energy rate ($0.0665 vs $0.1190/kWh) but adds a $14.50/kW demand charge. High-load-factor small businesses often come out ahead on MGS; peaky low-usage accounts are better off staying under 25 kW.
- Watch your demand readings — three months above 25 kW in 12 triggers the transfer
- If you're consistently near the line, run the MGS math; high-usage accounts may benefit from switching deliberately
- Track the PCA line item, which has historically swung between ~$0.010 and $0.022/kWh
Large gas users: industrial process heat and big commercial boilers
Danville's gas rate book rewards size and flexibility: interruptible, hedging, and transportation schedules cut distribution costs to as low as $0.075/therm.
A commercial account burning 20,000 therms/month pays ~$0.23-0.26/therm distribution on firm Schedule 20 but ~$0.105-0.156/therm on interruptible Schedule 25 — a 40-55% distribution saving for accepting curtailment risk. Schedule 45's hedging option lets 50,000+ therm/month industrials direct their own commodity purchases.
- Confirm backup fuel capability before electing interruptible service
- Accounts over 50,000 therms/month should evaluate the Schedule 45 hedging option to control commodity timing
- Transportation (Schedule 50) customers procure their own gas — compare marketer pricing against the PGA
Cost Optimization Strategies
Danville's rate book is unusually rich for a municipal utility, which means schedule selection itself is the biggest lever: HLF vs LGS, the three MGS variants, TOU options, and four flavors of large-volume gas service. Beyond schedule choice, the 15-minute demand peak, the PCA/PGA pass-throughs, and the SGS/MGS boundary drive controllable costs.
Schedule optimization across the rate ladder
For: All C&I electric and gas accounts
With nine nonresidential electric schedules and six gas schedules, misassignment is costly. Annual reviews should test: HLF eligibility (1,500 kW + 70% load factor saves $11/kW vs LGS), the cheapest qualifying MGS variant, TOU elections, and firm-vs-interruptible gas. Danville's Green Button data access makes the modeling straightforward.
15-minute peak demand management
For: MGS, LGS, and HLF customers
MGS and LGS bill the highest 15-minute integrated demand at $13.14-$17.50/kW. Demand-limiting controls, staggered HVAC/motor starts, and battery or thermal storage directly cut the billed peak. Pair with the utility's smart thermostat demand response program where applicable.
Load factor improvement toward HLF qualification
For: Industrial loads near HLF thresholds
Facilities near 1,500 kW with 60-70% load factor can engineer their way into HLF by flattening production schedules or adding off-peak load — the $6.50/kW demand rate rewrites the economics of a large bill. The 70% threshold is measured over a full year.
TOU election for shiftable load
For: MGS customers with schedulable load
Voluntary TOU-50 cuts the MGS demand rate from $14.50 to $11.27/kW in exchange for seasonal on/off-peak energy pricing. Facilities that can move load out of summer on-peak windows (and EV/fleet charging in particular) capture both the demand discount and off-peak energy rates.
Gas commodity strategy: interruptible, hedging, and transport
For: Commercial/industrial gas accounts above 15,000 therms/month
Large gas users should ladder up the gas schedules as volume grows: Schedule 25 interruptible at 15,000 therms/month, Schedule 45's customer-directed hedging at 50,000 therms/month, or full Schedule 50 transportation with marketer-procured commodity. Each step trades service firmness or procurement responsibility for materially lower unit costs versus firm Schedule 20 plus PGA.
PCA/PGA pass-through monitoring
For: All electric and gas customers
The electric Power Cost Adjustment has historically moved more than 50% between rate cycles (~$0.0217 to ~$0.0102/kWh in one proposal), and the gas PGA tracks commodity markets monthly. Budget these separately from base rates and validate them on every bill — Danville's portal and Green Button access make automated tracking practical.
To implement these strategies, you need your 15-minute interval data. Learn how to download Danville Utilities (City of Danville, Virginia) interval data →
Frequently Asked Questions
How do C&I customers get interval data from Danville Utilities?▾
Through Green Button: log into the customer portal, request a usage download, and receive ESPI/Atom XML with interval readings and billing summaries for a selectable 12- or 24-month window. For programmatic, real-time-capable access to billing and meter data, request CIS Infinity REST API credentials from utildept@danvilleva.gov.
Does Danville support automated third-party data sharing?▾
Yes — unusually for a municipal utility this size. Third parties register through the Green Button Connect program (OAuth 2.0 redirect/notify URLs or SFTP, PEM SSL certificate, ToS/privacy policy URLs) with approval in about 10 business days. One caveat: data transfers once per customer consent rather than as a recurring feed, so refreshes require re-authorization.
What does the CIS Infinity REST API expose?▾
Accounts, billing history and transactions, meter data and readings, consumption details, and service delivery point information — via RESTful HTTPS with HTTP Basic auth and mandatory 2-way SSL. Endpoints include /data/(bizobjname), /do/(function), and /run/report for scheduled reporting, all documented in Swagger at https://cis5.danvilleva.gov/. JSON is the primary format with optional XML.
Does Danville Utilities support EDI?▾
No. There is no published ANSI X12 transaction support (814/820/867/810), enrollment process, or VAN partnership. Businesses needing structured exchange should use the CIS Infinity REST API or Green Button ESPI XML instead, or inquire directly at (434) 799-5125.
Which services does the Green Button program cover?▾
Electric, water, and gas — registrants select which services and which customer segments (commercial, residential, or both) they serve, plus a 12- or 24-month historical window. Data arrives in standardized ESPI XML via OAuth redirect with an SFTP backup option.
What does Nectar's roadmap support level mean for Danville Utilities?▾
Danville is on Nectar's roadmap with strong integration fundamentals: Green Button ESPI XML and a documented REST API mean automated ingestion is genuinely feasible. While native support is built, Nectar can work with customer-downloaded Green Button files or pursue registered third-party access through the SCM program.
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