Abstract: In this study of electricity rate structure design for irrigation, four South Dakota RECs are analyzed. The impacts of two types of pricing policies that affect electricity use for irrigation are examined—one involves incremental changes in the level of energy charges and the other discrete changes in the form of electricity charges. The analysis is predicated on the fact that RECs have some discretion, within the regulatory restrictions they face, to reformulate their rate structures. Attention is given to demand-side incentives, in the spirit of Hill and Hirst (1985), and the role of pricing in achieving conservation objectives, following Carter (1985) and Stelzer (1982). The model represents an extension of methodologies developed by Lindemer et al. (1983) and Gardner and Young (1984a, 1984b).

　　Subjects: ELECTRIC utilities -- Rates; CONSUMER cooperatives; PRICING; ELECTRIC power; POWER resources; SOUTH Dakota; UNITED States; Water Supply and Irrigation Systems; ELECTRICITY; IRRIGATION; ELECTRIC power consumption