A consumer driven market provides one with many choices. This applies even to electricity. If your projects are in a deregulated market, then you will need to decide on which generation utility to choose from. An example is Pacific Gas and Electric in California. A customer could have PG&E as the distribution utility but use one of the community choice energy utilities as the generation utility. You can use HOMER Grid to evaluate the multiple generation utility options.
In HOMER Grid, the first step would be to add the distribution tariff (the price for using the grid network to deliver electricity to your home). You can do this by opening the tariff window, typing in your zip code, and then selecting “No” to the question – “Does the same company provide both generation and distribution service?”
Once you have selected and added your distribution tariff, you can then add your generation tariff using two ways. The HOMER Grid user manual explains how:
You could then add multiple such tariffs and compare the different generation utilities. The HOMER Grid user manual explains how to do that as well.