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Plan Cost Calculator

Low-level Texas electricity bill calculator. Computes the exact monthly and annual bill given a fully-specified plan rate sheet (energy rate, solar buyback, base fee, TDU delivery rate, TDU monthly fee) and a home's usage profile. For ZIP-based lookups that fetch plan rates and TDU charges automatically, use `quote-meter-plan`.

Pure bill math. This is the same calculator that powers Meter's plans page, renewal flow, and battery analysis — exposed for agents that already have a complete rate sheet. **Required inputs:** - `importKwh`, `exportKwh`: monthly usage - `importRate`, `exportRate`: plan energy + solar buyback rates (¢/kWh) - `baseFee`: plan monthly base fee ($) - `deliveryRate`, `deliveryBaseFee`: **TDU charges — mandatory for Texas residential.** TDU rates are billed separately from energy rates in Texas. Omitting them produces a bill ~$30/mo too low. Sample ONCOR rates: 4.2¢/kWh + $3.42/mo base. Look up your TDU's current rate on the plan's EFL. **Optional inputs:** - `batteryCapacityKwh` + `storageCreditPerKwh`: for battery VPP plans - `monthlyCreditDollars`: direct VPP credit override **Outputs:** import charges, export credits, net energy, carryforward credits, delivery charges, battery credit, excess battery credits, monthly + annual bill. **Notes:** - Rates are in ¢/kWh. Fees in $. - Negative bills are clamped to zero; excess credits carry forward. - Battery credits offset the entire bill (energy + delivery + base). - For competitor plans with free-nights, RTW, or other non-standard structures, use the (forthcoming) `compare-plans` tool. - For "what would Meter's Saver cost in my ZIP" — use the (forthcoming) `quote-meter-plan` tool which handles ZIP → utility → rate sheet lookup.

Endpoint

POST https://meterplan.com/api/v1/plan-cost-calc

MCP tool name: calculate_plan_cost

Inputs

  • importKwhnumberrequired

    Monthly electricity imported from the grid, in kWh.

  • exportKwhnumberrequired

    Monthly solar electricity exported to the grid, in kWh. Use 0 for non-solar homes.

  • importRatenumberrequired

    Plan's energy import rate in cents per kWh (e.g., 12.5 for 12.5¢/kWh).

  • exportRatenumberrequired

    Plan's solar buyback credit in cents per kWh (e.g., 8 for 8¢/kWh). Use 0 for plans without solar buyback.

  • baseFeenumberrequired

    Plan's monthly base fee in dollars (e.g., 14.95). Use 0 for no-base-fee plans.

  • deliveryRatenumberrequired

    Required. Texas TDU per-kWh delivery charge in cents (e.g., 4.2 for ONCOR ~4.2¢/kWh). TDU charges are billed separately from energy in Texas retail electricity — omitting them produces a bill ~$30/mo too low. Look up the rate for your utility from the EFL or use the `quote-meter-plan` tool which fetches it automatically by ZIP.

  • deliveryBaseFeenumberrequired

    Required. Texas TDU monthly base fee in dollars (e.g., 3.42 for ONCOR). Like delivery rate, this is mandatory for Texas residential electricity and not bundled into the energy rate.

  • batteryCapacityKwhnumber

    Battery capacity in kWh (e.g., 13.5 for a Tesla Powerwall 3). Required if storageCreditPerKwh is set.

  • storageCreditPerKwhnumber

    Plan's battery VPP credit rate in $/kWh/month (e.g., 2 for $2/kWh/mo).

  • monthlyCreditDollarsnumber

    Optional override: direct monthly battery credit in dollars, replacing the capacity × credit-rate calculation.

Outputs

  • importChargesnumber

    Gross monthly cost of imported energy, in dollars.

  • exportCreditsnumber

    Gross monthly solar export credit, in dollars.

  • netEnergyChargesnumber

    Net energy charges after applying export credits (clamped at 0).

  • carryforwardCreditsnumber

    Solar credits that exceed import charges and carry forward.

  • deliveryChargesnumber

    Monthly TDU delivery charges, in dollars.

  • billBeforeCreditsnumber

    Bill total before battery credits are applied.

  • batteryCreditnumber

    Monthly battery VPP credit, in dollars.

  • excessBatteryCreditsnumber

    Battery credits that exceed the bill (banked).

  • totalMonthlyBillnumber

    Final monthly bill after all credits, in dollars.

  • totalAnnualBillnumber

    Final annual bill (monthly × 12), in dollars.

Example prompts

  • “Calculate the bill for ONCOR territory with import 700 kWh @ 13¢, export 500 kWh @ 8¢, $14.95 base, TDU 4.2¢/kWh + $3.42 base.”
  • “What's the annual cost for CenterPoint Houston with 900 kWh @ 11¢ import, 0 export, no base, TDU 5.3¢/kWh + $4.39 base?”
  • “Battery plan bill: 1200 kWh @ 13¢, 800 kWh export @ 3¢, $0 base, ONCOR delivery 4.2¢ + $3.42, 13.5 kWh Powerwall @ $2/kWh/mo storage credit.”