Abstract
The Energy Escalation Rate Calculator (EERC) computes an average annual escalation rate for fuel prices, based on the annual energy price forecasts of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This rate is used to escalate the contract payments in Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPC) and Utility Energy Services Contracts (UESC) when the payments are based on projected annual energy cost savings. The EIA-projected fuel price escalation rates vary from year to year, but for calculating contract payments the EERC-calculated uniform average rate is preferable. The rate is stated in real (excluding inflation) and nominal (including inflation) terms and weighted by the share of each of the energy types used in the project. When applied to the base-year energy costs or savings of ESPC or UESC projects, it results in approximately the same total amounts over the performance period as do the EIA-projected rates. For details on how the average escalation rate is calculated, see the ReadMe.pdf file in the EERC start menu or e-mail
Laura.Schultz [at] nist.gov or
Sieglinde.Fuller [at] nist.gov.