Retail electricity price
State and end-use sector price, prior-year change and eventually exact utility tariff structure.
Data / What belongs in the model
Only if it changes the expense picture.
Less property trivia. More cost intelligence.
ExpenseIntel deliberately avoids becoming another generic property-data portal. A data layer earns its place only when it helps estimate, explain, compare or forecast a meaningful expense.
01 / Evidence architecture
Every number gets an evidence trail.
The ExpenseIntel model is intentionally mixed-source. Some inputs are directly verified, some are authoritative market averages, some are statistical building benchmarks, and some remain explicit model assumptions. The interface should never blur those categories together.
01 / PLACEResolve the location.
Canonical address, coordinates, city, state, ZIP, county and tract.
02 / MARKETPull current cost signals.
State energy prices today; utility-level tariff data next.
03 / BUILDINGEstimate consumption.
Building-use intensity, size and eventually richer property attributes.
04 / DECISIONExpose uncertainty.
Range, confidence, source freshness, drivers and forward movement.
Signal
Status
Geography
Grade
Current evidence
Address + coordinates
Live now
Property point
A
U.S. Census geocoder; Google Places-ready provider layer.
Electricity price
Live now
State + sector
A
U.S. EIA Electric Power Monthly 2026 YTD retail price, including prior-year comparison.
Natural gas price
Live now
State + sector
A
U.S. EIA Natural Gas Monthly latest state end-use price when reported.
Building energy intensity
Live benchmark
National use type
B
EIA CBECS commercial-building benchmarks for restaurants, retail, offices, warehouses and general commercial space.
Utility tariff
Connector next
Utility territory
A
OpenEI / U.S. Utility Rate Database connection planned for tariff-level rate structures.
Property tax
Connector next
Parcel / county
A
County assessor and tax-bill sources; nationwide normalization required.
Water + sewer
Connector next
Local utility
B
Municipal and utility tariff schedules are fragmented and need local source resolution.
Insurance exposure
Signal next
Property / hazard
C
Flood, weather and building-use signals can inform exposure; actual premiums remain quote-specific.
02 / Financially relevant signals
Wide data. Narrow purpose.
ExpenseIntel can ingest many sources without becoming a generic site-intelligence product. The filter stays financial: if a signal cannot move an expense, confidence interval or comparison, it does not belong.
Natural gas price
State end-use price combined with building-use gas intensity rather than a generic percentage of total cost.
Consumption intensity
kWh and gas use per square foot by property use, with CBECS-backed commercial categories and labeled bridges where data is weaker.
Tax burden
Actual assessment and tax bill should replace broad modeled exposure wherever parcel-level records are available.
Water + sewer schedule
Base fees, consumption tiers, sewer multipliers and known rate increases normalized into one annual view.
Insurance pressure
Flood, catastrophe, construction and use signals should explain exposure without pretending to be an insurance quote.
03 / Confidence
Never make an estimate look more certain than it is.
The product becomes more trustworthy when it distinguishes directly observed information, strong estimates and lower-confidence scenario assumptions instead of hiding all three behind one polished number.
A
Observed / authoritative
Verified address, EIA published price series, future tariff schedules, tax records and user-supplied actual bills.
B
Benchmark + strong inputs
Statistical consumption intensity, normalized usage and forecasts built from high-quality upstream signals.
C
Scenario / incomplete
Costs that still depend on missing building details, fragmented local schedules or uncertain future conditions.
04 / Infrastructure
Infrastructure belongs when it has a financial consequence.
ExpenseIntel should not claim to map buried utilities or replace an engineering locate. The useful version is narrower: identify service or connection conditions only when they affect operating, upgrade or development cost.
Service availability
Gas, municipal water, sewer or other service availability can materially change the economics of a site.
WhyRecurring / hookup cost
Connection + upgrade risk
Potential service upgrades, capacity constraints or extension requirements belong when they create a measurable cost.
WhyCapital exposure
Precise buried-utility location
ExpenseIntel should not guess the exact depth or position of underground infrastructure and should never substitute for authorized locating.
ReasonOutside product scope
Product discipline
Does this data help estimate, explain, compare or forecast an expense?If not, it does not belong in ExpenseIntel.
Use the evidence