Regarding the Hanser, Wharton and Fox-Penner article on real-time pricing ("Real-Time Pricing (em Restructuring's Big Bang," PUBLIC UTILITIES FORTNIGHTLY, March 1, 1997, p. 22), the authors state that RTP programs will defer capacity needs and reduce peak loads. I doubt it. People don't mind paying high prices per kWh for a few hours each year. On the other hand, there is nothing like an old-fashion ratchet to get people to reduce their peak demand.
The authors clearly favor two-part RTP programs over one-part programs, stating that with the two-part program the customer is always exposed to RTP prices for its full demand, but this claim is not the case. Perhaps only a small portion of the customer's load (the increment under or over the base-year usage) is exposed to RTP.