As stated in the current Technical Guide, the annual utility price escalation rate to calculate avoided annual electricity/water costs is not to exceed 3% in most cases. For project applications filed between October 1, 2022 and December 31, 2024, the administrator, at its discretion, is authorized to approve an annual escalation rate of up to 4% that would be applied to the limited time period of October 1, 2022 – December 31, 2024. The increased escalation rate may only be applied to the portion of the calculation that falls within aforementioned time frame. The remainder of the project must calculate avoided annual utility costs not to exceed 3%. If project developers are concerned with the complexity of increasing to 4% during defined 2022-2023 time period, and then ratcheting down, they may keep the escalation at no more than 3% over the entire period of the project.