Foley Board of Utilities (Riviera Utilities) Rate Selection Guide
Foley Board of Utilities operates as Riviera Utilities, a municipal utility serving roughly 58,000 electric customers across Baldwin County, Alabama. It has deployed AMI smart meters and offers online billing and usage monitoring through the MyMeter (VertexOne) and ViewMyBill portals, but provides no Green Button, public API, or EDI data access.
Foley Board of Utilities (Riviera Utilities) Rate Schedule Comparison
| Schedule | Type | Rate | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rate 604 Part I (under 50 kW) | Commercial | $32.75/mo customer charge + 11.52 cents/kWh | Small commercial accounts under 50 kW demand |
| Rate 604 Part II (50 kW and over) | Commercial | $6.554/kW demand (first 1,000 kW) + 8.87/7.52 cents/kWh | Larger commercial accounts with demand metering |
| Rate 605 - Three-Phase Industrial | Industrial | Demand + energy (figures per current tariff sheet) | Three-phase industrial loads |
Market Overview
Alabama is a regulated, vertically-integrated electricity market with no retail electric choice. Riviera Utilities is a municipal utility owned by the Utilities Board of the City of Foley; it generates or purchases power and sets retail rates locally. Customers cannot choose an alternative electricity supplier.
Need to pull your actual usage data to compare rates? See the Foley Board of Utilities (Riviera Utilities) Data Access Guide →
Current Rate Schedules
Riviera Utilities publishes its electric rate schedules as PDFs. The figures below for Rate 604 are from the verified Twelfth Revision tariff sheet (effective November 1, 2023). Rate 600 (residential) and Rate 605 (three-phase industrial) structures are published on the rates page; specific Rate 605 dollar figures were not accessible at the time of research and should be confirmed on the current tariff sheet.
Effective: November 1, 2023 · Full Tariff Book →
| Schedule | Type | Applicability | Structure | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rate 604 Part I - General Electric Service (under 50 kW) | commercial | Single-phase or three-phase general service (lighting, power, miscellaneous) where monthly metered demand is less than 50 kW. | Customer charge $32.75/month; energy 11.52 cents/kWh for all kWh; minimum monthly bill $32.75; 5% reduction if customer furnishes transformation facilities. Verified Twelfth Revision effective Nov 1, 2023. | — |
| Rate 604 Part II - General Electric Service (50 kW and over) | commercial | Single-phase or three-phase general service where monthly metered demand is 50 kW or more, or billing demand is 38 kW or more. | Demand charge $6.554/kW for the first 1,000 kW plus $6.254/kW above 1,000 kW; energy 8.87 cents/kWh for the first 300,000 kWh plus 7.52 cents/kWh above; billing demand based on max 15-minute demand (ratchet 75%); $300 minimum monthly bill; low-power-factor surcharge applies. Verified Twelfth Revision effective Nov 1, 2023. | — |
| Rate 605 - Three-Phase Industrial Electric Service | industrial | Three-phase industrial electric service for qualifying industrial loads. | Demand-and-energy structure with a low-power-factor provision, published as a PDF tariff sheet. Specific current dollar figures were not accessible during research; confirm on the official rates page. | — |
| Rate RG1 - Customer Renewable Generation Rate Rider | commercial | Customers with on-site renewable generation (e.g., solar) interconnecting with Riviera Utilities. | Rider applied to the underlying rate schedule governing customer renewable generation; see the published RG1 tariff sheet. | — |
| Energy Cost Adjustment (ECA) | commercial | All electric rate schedules, including commercial and industrial. | A periodic per-kWh adjustment (the ECA factor) added to or subtracted from base rates to reflect changes in the utility's energy supply costs. | — |
Rate Recommendations by Use Case
Small commercial account (under 50 kW)
Accounts below 50 kW are billed under Rate 604 Part I, an energy-only rate with no demand charge.
With a flat 11.52 cents/kWh and a $32.75 customer charge, energy efficiency and load reduction are the only levers; there is no demand charge to manage until 50 kW.
- Stay below the 50 kW demand threshold to avoid Part II demand charges
- Reduce overall kWh through efficiency upgrades
- Furnish transformation facilities for a 5% discount where feasible
Mid-to-large commercial account (50 kW and over)
Once demand reaches 50 kW, Rate 604 Part II adds a demand charge ($6.554/kW), a 75% ratchet, and a low-power-factor surcharge.
Demand charges and the ratchet dominate the bill; a single high 15-minute peak inflates billed demand for up to 11 months, making peak control and power factor the top priorities.
- Shave the maximum 15-minute peak to limit demand and the ratchet
- Keep power factor above 90% to avoid the surcharge
- Use declining-block energy efficiently above 300,000 kWh
Three-phase industrial facility
Large three-phase industrial loads may qualify for Rate 605; current dollar figures are published only on the official tariff sheet, available from Customer Service.
Rate 605 is designed for industrial loads with demand and energy components and a power factor provision; specific figures must be verified on the current tariff because they were not accessible during research.
- Request the current Rate 605 tariff sheet from Customer Service
- Apply the same peak-demand and power-factor discipline as Rate 604 Part II
- Evaluate customer-owned transformation for primary-service savings
Energy manager needing usage data
With no API or Green Button, data access depends on the MyMeter portal and manual Letter of Authorization requests.
Riviera Utilities offers only portal views and PDF bills, so automated benchmarking is not possible; plan for manual data collection.
- Use MyMeter for usage visualization and PDF bill downloads
- Submit a signed Letter of Authorization for any third-party data access
- Budget time for case-by-case manual data provision (no SLA)
Historical Rate Trends
Riviera Utilities periodically revises its rate sheets and applies an Energy Cost Adjustment (ECA) factor that moves with energy supply costs. A general rate adjustment took effect May 1, 2023, followed by a Rate 604 revision effective November 1, 2023.
May 1, 2023
General rate adjustment: commercial electric base raised by $10 to $32.75 and usage by $0.01/kWh to 11.52 cents/kWh (residential base +$6 to $28, +$0.01/kWh).
Base +$10 (commercial)November 1, 2023
Rate 604 Twelfth Revision: Part II energy charges increased to 8.87 cents/kWh (first 300,000 kWh) and 7.52 cents/kWh (excess); demand charges held at $6.554/$6.254 per kW.
+1.0 cent/kWh (Part II energy)Overall trend: Increasing - base and usage charges raised in the May 2023 adjustment and again in the Nov 2023 Rate 604 revision.
Next expected change: Future changes are made via revised tariff sheets and ongoing ECA factor updates; monitor the rates page.
Cost Optimization Strategies
Because Rate 604 Part II adds a demand charge, a 75% ratchet, and a low-power-factor surcharge once a facility crosses 50 kW, the highest-impact strategies for Riviera Utilities C&I accounts are managing peak demand, maintaining power factor above 90%, and using declining-block energy tiers efficiently.
Peak Demand Management
For: Rate 604 Part II
Limit the maximum 15-minute demand that sets the Part II demand charge and feeds the 75% ratchet, since a single high peak can elevate billed demand for the following 11 months.
Power Factor Correction
For: Rate 604 Part II
Install capacitor banks or correct inductive loads to keep power factor above 90% and avoid the 30-cents-per-kVA low-power-factor surcharge under Rate 604 Part II.
Customer-Owned Transformation
For: Rate 604 Part I and Part II
Where feasible, furnish your own transformation facilities to capture the primary-service adjustment (5% reduction on Part I, or $0.20/kW of billing demand on Part II).
Energy Tier and ECA Awareness
For: All electric C&I accounts
Track consumption against the 300,000 kWh declining-block break and monitor the Energy Cost Adjustment factor, which moves total cost up or down independent of base rates.
To implement these strategies, you need your 15-minute interval data. Learn how to download Foley Board of Utilities (Riviera Utilities) interval data →
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a C&I energy manager access Riviera Utilities data via API or Green Button?▾
No. Riviera Utilities has no public API, no Green Button (Download or Connect My Data), and no aggregator partnerships. Data access is limited to viewing bills and usage in the MyMeter and ViewMyBill portals, with PDF as the only downloadable format. Bulk or machine-readable data requires a manual Letter of Authorization request.
What rate schedule applies to a commercial or industrial electric account?▾
Most commercial and industrial accounts fall under Rate 604 (Single-Phase or Three-Phase General Electric Service), which splits into Part I for demand under 50 kW and Part II for demand of 50 kW or more. Larger three-phase industrial loads may qualify for Rate 605 (Three-Phase Industrial Electric Service). Confirm the applicable schedule with Customer Service.
How are demand charges structured for large commercial accounts?▾
Under Rate 604 Part II (demand 50 kW or more), the verified tariff applies a demand charge of $6.554/kW for the first 1,000 kW and $6.254/kW above 1,000 kW, plus an energy charge of 8.87 cents/kWh for the first 300,000 kWh and 7.52 cents/kWh above that, with a $300 minimum monthly bill and a low-power-factor surcharge. Figures are from the Twelfth Revision effective November 1, 2023.
Is interval (15-minute) data available for our facility?▾
Riviera Utilities does not document downloadable 15-minute or 30-minute interval data. Note that for Rate 604 Part II billing demand is based on the maximum integrated 15-minute demand, but that data is not exposed for export; AMI usage is viewable only as daily/monthly summaries in MyMeter.
How does a third party get authorized to pull our usage and billing data?▾
Riviera Utilities has no automated authorization portal. The customer must sign a Letter of Authorization (possibly notarized) and submit it to Customer Service at (251) 943-5001 or cs@rivierautilities.com. The utility then provides data manually on a case-by-case basis with no guaranteed turnaround or format.
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