Predictika · Electric delivery service rate assignment

An AI sales agent's rate assignment, checked against the Ameren Illinois rate sheets before it goes out

An AI sales agent prepares the delivery service rate for a non-residential electric account in the Ameren Illinois territory: the rate requested, the demand history of the prior calendar year, metering, and the conditions that apply to the optional and special cases. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the published rate sheets and returns a verdict and every reason.

Scope: Ameren Illinois non-residential delivery service: Rates DS-2, DS-3, DS-4 and the optional DS-6. See everything this validator covers

This validator models rate assignment for non-residential delivery service under Rates DS-2, DS-3, DS-4 and the optional Rate DS-6 (temperature sensitive), not just the scenarios shown below. It follows the Ameren Illinois electric rate sheets (Ill. C. C. No. 1, Sheets 12, 13, 14 and 17) as published on the Ameren website.

  • Rate class from demand history — Rate DS-2 below 150 kW, DS-3 from 150 kW up to 1,000 kW and DS-4 from 1,000 kW, decided by the number of months in the prior calendar year at or above each level (two or more months), with the demand metering that DS-3, DS-4 and DS-6 require.
  • Reassignment lockout — a customer reassigned away from a rate cannot return to it for 12 monthly billing periods.
  • Rate DS-6 (temperature sensitive) — open only to customers who would otherwise take DS-3 or DS-4, with at least 12 monthly billing periods as a customer, a request made by May 1, and a Delivery Allowance of no more than 25 percent of the highest monthly demand of the past 12 months.
  • Special conditions — the Rate DS-2 Optional Charges (for customers reassigned from DS-3, elected within 3 billing periods), unmetered service (Rate DS-2, up to 5 kW, at the Company's discretion), usage of 1,200 kWh per day or more with no demand meter, and the 2,500 kVA limit on new Company-owned transformation from January 1, 2026 (larger loads only through Rider EFC).

Any assignment for these four rates is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. Not covered: dollar charges (they are in the Rate PBR-R Appendix, which is not modeled, so this validator produces no bill or price build-up), Rate DS-5 lighting service, residential rates, riders, Missouri service territory, new customers with no demand history, and the Company's own judgment on matters it reserves to itself.

The AI sales agentPrepares the rate assignment from the account details and says it is ready.
Predictika validatorChecks every rule at once and returns the verdict, each finding, and the computed figures.

6 scenarios in 3 groups · each group runs from the agent’s first attempt to the outcome · click one to switch

What the agent proposes

The AI sales agent says

Illustrative agent statement. The validator receives the structured request below.

Proposing agent: AI sales agent (scripted)

Before sending, the agent must call Recorded run

Predictika validator


      

        
        
        
      

      
Waiting for the call.

      
    

  

  
  

    
Where rules-based CPQ gets it wrong
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Our assessment of what a typical rules-based CPQ (product rules, price rules and validation rules, as in Salesforce CPQ) does with the same cases. It is a judgment about effort and reliability, not a claim that nothing can be built.

    
What the validator caughtTypical rules-based CPQPredictika
The rate class that follows from months at or above 150 kW and 1,000 kW in the prior calendar yearOnly with care
The rule is a count of months (two or more) against two thresholds, and a customer can look right on the current month and wrong on the history, so a rep can pick the wrong rate class.		The class is computed from the history on every call and compared with the rate requested.
No return to a rate for 12 billing periods after reassignmentOnly with workarounds
It needs the previous rate and the number of billing periods since the change as extra fields and its own exclusion rule for each rate.		The lockout is checked against the previous rate and the elapsed periods on every call.
Rate DS-6 conditions: customer for 12 periods, request by May 1, allowance at most 25 percent of the 12-month peakOnly with care
Three separate conditions sit on one optional rate, and a request that meets two of them looks complete.		All three are checked together and each failure is reported.
The 2,500 kVA limit on new Company-owned transformation from 2026Only with workarounds
It depends on the date the service starts, who owns the transformer and the load, so it is a combined condition that is easy to leave out.		Blocked with the reason, and the customer-owned alternative passes.
Every problem returned in one answerOnly with workarounds
Rules tend to fire as the quote is saved or a step is completed, so a rep often fixes one error and meets the next.		All findings come back together, whatever order the choices arrived in.

  

  

    
What this validator catches: findings from its test cases
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Every rule is checked on every call, in any order the choices arrive; one problem never hides another. Blocking findings stop the quote; approval findings need a person to sign off; everything else is computed.

    
1The request is for Rate DS-2 but the demand history of the prior calendar year places the customer in Rate DS-3.
2The request is for Rate DS-3 but the demand history of the prior calendar year places the customer in Rate DS-2.
3The request is for Rate DS-3 but the demand history of the prior calendar year places the customer in Rate DS-4.
4The request is for Rate DS-4 but the demand history of the prior calendar year places the customer in Rate DS-3.
5Rate DS-3 is available only where demand metering is installed.
6With no demand meter and average usage of 1200 kWh per day, the Company may install a demand meter to confirm that the customer still qualifies for Rate DS-2.
7The demand history is inconsistent; months at or above 1000 kW cannot exceed months at or above 150 kW, and neither can exceed 12.
8The Delivery Allowance of 26 kW is more than 25 percent of the highest monthly demand in the past 12 months, which is 100 kW.
9Rate DS-6 requires at least 12 monthly billing periods as a customer; this customer has 11.
10Rate DS-6 is optional only for customers who would otherwise be served under Rate DS-3 or DS-4; this demand history places the customer in Rate DS-2.
11Rate DS-6 must be requested by May 1 to begin with the following June billing period.
12The customer was reassigned away from Rate DS-3 only 11 billing periods ago, and cannot return to it for 12 monthly billing periods.
13The Rate DS-2 Optional Charges are only for a customer reassigned from Rate DS-3 to Rate DS-2 who elects them within 3 monthly billing periods.
14New Company-owned transformation on and after January 1, 2026 is provided only for loads up to 2500 kVA; this 2501 kVA load is available only through Rider EFC.
15Unmetered service of 5 kW is provided at the sole discretion of the Company and only if the load is continuous or regularly scheduled on an annual basis.
16Unmetered service is limited to connected loads not exceeding 5 kW at any one point of delivery; this load is 6 kW.
17The rate sheets for Rates DS-3, DS-4 and DS-6 have no unmetered service provision; it is provided under Rate DS-2.
18Rate DS-4 is available only where demand metering is installed.
19The customer was reassigned away from Rate DS-4 only 2 billing periods ago, and cannot return to it for 12 monthly billing periods.
20New Company-owned transformation on and after January 1, 2026 is provided only for loads up to 2500 kVA; this 3000 kVA load is available only through Rider EFC.

  

  

    
Scenarios and results
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The recorded result of the validator for each scenario on this page: the request the AI agent sent, the verdict, and every finding, in the order they appear above.

    
1. Rate class: A DS-3 account whose demand passed 1,000 kW in three months

    
The agent's request. Please set up Rate DS-3 for this account. Its demand was at or above 150 kW in 12 of the last 12 months and at or above 1,000 kW in 3 of them. Demand metering is installed. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Rate does not match the demand history. The request is for Rate DS-3 but the demand history of the prior calendar year places the customer in Rate DS-4.
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2. Rate class: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please set up Rate DS-4 for this account. Its demand was at or above 150 kW in 12 of the last 12 months and at or above 1,000 kW in 3 of them. Demand metering is installed. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Rate from demand history. The demand history places this customer in Rate DS-4 (months at or above 150 kW: 12, months at or above 1000 kW: 3).
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3. Temperature sensitive rate: A temperature sensitive request with an oversized Delivery Allowance

    
The agent's request. Please set up Rate DS-6 for this account. Its demand was at or above 150 kW in 12 of the last 12 months and at or above 1,000 kW in 0 of them. Demand metering is installed. The customer has been with Ameren for 18 monthly billing periods, the request was filed by May 1, and the Delivery Allowance is 40 kW against a highest monthly demand of 120 kW over the past 12 months. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Delivery Allowance above 25 percent. The Delivery Allowance of 40 kW is more than 25 percent of the highest monthly demand in the past 12 months, which is 120 kW.
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4. Temperature sensitive rate: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please set up Rate DS-6 for this account. Its demand was at or above 150 kW in 12 of the last 12 months and at or above 1,000 kW in 0 of them. Demand metering is installed. The customer has been with Ameren for 18 monthly billing periods, the request was filed by May 1, and the Delivery Allowance is 30 kW against a highest monthly demand of 120 kW over the past 12 months. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Rate from demand history. The demand history places this customer in Rate DS-3 (months at or above 150 kW: 12, months at or above 1000 kW: 0).
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5. New large site: A new 3,200 kVA site on DS-4 with a Company transformer and no demand meter

    
The agent's request. Please set up Rate DS-4 for this account. Its demand was at or above 150 kW in 12 of the last 12 months and at or above 1,000 kW in 12 of them. There is no demand meter. The new service starts after January 1, 2026 with a Company-owned transformer for a 3,200 kVA load. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Demand meter required. Rate DS-4 is available only where demand metering is installed.
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  • Company transformer above 2500 kVA. New Company-owned transformation on and after January 1, 2026 is provided only for loads up to 2500 kVA; this 3200 kVA load is available only through Rider EFC.
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6. New large site: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please set up Rate DS-4 for this account. Its demand was at or above 150 kW in 12 of the last 12 months and at or above 1,000 kW in 12 of them. Demand metering is installed. The new service starts after January 1, 2026 with customer-owned transformation for a 3,200 kVA load. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Rate from demand history. The demand history places this customer in Rate DS-4 (months at or above 150 kW: 12, months at or above 1000 kW: 12).
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Narration transcript
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The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.

    
    
      
  1. Welcome to a demo of Predictika's Validator. An AI sales agent prepares the delivery service rate for a non-residential electric account in the Ameren Illinois territory: the rate requested, the demand history of the prior calendar year, metering, and more. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the published rate sheets and returns a verdict and every reason.
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  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
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  3. The agent says. Please set up Rate DS-3 for this account. Its demand was at or above 150 kW in 12 of the last 12 months and at or above 1,000 kW in 3 of them. The rest of the request is on screen.
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  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
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  5. Blocked, with one finding, all in one answer. The request is for Rate DS-3 but the demand history of the prior calendar year places the customer in Rate DS-4.
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  6. The validator returned one blocking finding in one answer. A check that reads one field at a time would pass most of this; it shows only when the choices in the quote are checked against each other.
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  7. What this shows: for the rate class that follows from months at or above 150 kW and 1,000 kW in the prior calendar year, a rules-based CPQ is error-prone for this.
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  8. Now the agent resubmits.
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  9. The corrected request. It changes the rate requested to DS-4.
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  10. It calls the validator again.
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  11. This time the validator clears it.
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  12. The earlier finding is cleared.
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  13. One problem caught in one call, fixed in one pass, and a clean quote. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before they reach the customer.
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