Least cost planning from a customer's perspective

In this paper, I offer some thoughts about least cost planning, not from the perspective of the regulator or utility, but from the perspective of a residential customer. The problem that I address is, as a homeowner in northern Virginia, I am about to make a long term fuel choice for my household, where the options include, natural gas, electricity and fuel oil. An additional choice is the energy efficiency capital investment in my home that could decrease my monthly fuel costs. My decision process, hopefully as a rational consumer, offers implications about the efficiency of various services provided by all three fuel suppliers, including the local natural gas distribution companies (LDC).