We at Acme Electric aim to provide energy reliably to all our customer

Question

We at Acme Electric aim to provide energy reliably to all our customers, so we need to reduce the number of power outages, which have been increasing since Year 2 of our five-year usage study. In order to reduce the number of power outages, we have to reduce electricity usage during on-peak and mid-peak hours. Beginning next year, rather than charging the same rate regardless of time of use, we will implement the following tiered rates to charge for energy usage based on usage category:

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Acme Electric at one of our local offices.

Elite097 · Accepted Answer

Businesses that are open at least some evenings Monday through Friday also tend to be open at some weekend times on Saturday or Sunday.

No: This statement suggests that businesses are open on weekends, but it does not directly support the argument that the tiered pricing disproportionately burdens small-business owners. The Op-ed's concern is with the unfairness of the pricing during on-peak hours, not necessarily with businesses being open on weekends.
The most intensive use of electricity during the hours 08:00 to 17:00, Monday through Friday, is by small businesses rather than residential users.

Yes: This statement does support the Op-ed's argument because it indicates that small businesses, which operate primarily during peak hours, will be most affected by the tiered pricing plan. Since these are the hours when the highest rates apply, small businesses would face higher costs, which aligns with the claim that the pricing plan disproportionately burdens them.
Service businesses tend to have longer hours than manufacturing businesses.

No: This statement does not specifically address the burden of the tiered pricing plan on small businesses relative to other types of customers. It indicates that service businesses might use electricity for longer periods, but it doesn’t directly connect to the unfairness of the pricing plan as argued in the Op-ed

SomeOneUnique · Answer

Assume that each of the following statements, about businesses served by Acme Electric, is true. For each statement, select  Yes  if the statement would provide additional support for the case made in the Op-ed tab that Acme Electric's pricing plan, as outlined in the Pricing tab, disproportionately burdens business owners. Otherwise, select  No .

(I) Businesses that are open at least some evenings Monday through Friday also tend to be open at some weekend times on Saturday or Sunday. 
 If some businesses are open throughout the week then argument by Op-ed tab is not true as they are equally burdened. NO

(II)  The most intensive use of electricity during the hours 08:00 to 17:00, Monday through Friday, is by small businesses rather than residential users. 
That means the most intensive use of electricity is on Saturdays and Sundays between 8:00 and 17:00 is residential users and not small businesses.
Hence, raising the price on Saturday and Sunday would benefit small businesses. YES

(III)  Service businesses tend to have longer hours than manufacturing businesses. 
 Op-ed tab is asking the weekends to be pricier so comparing 2 distinct businesses is pointless. NO

Bismuth83 · Answer

1. The question asks us to  find which statements, if true, would support the case in the Op-ed tab .

2. First of all, the case being made is that Acme Electric's pricing plan disproportionately burdens business owners and one of the reasons is that residential users run their appliances during the weekend to avoid the extra costs.

3. Let's look at the possible statements:

- Businesses that are open at least some evenings Monday through Friday also tend to be open at some weekend times on Saturday or Sunday. If small businesses did this, then it would in fact weaken the case.   So, this statement doesn't work.

- The most intensive use of electricity during the hours 08:00 to 17:00, Monday through Friday, is by small businesses rather than residential users. This would strengthen the case and show that there is a disproportionate difference.   So, this statement does work.

- Service businesses tend to have longer hours than manufacturing businesses. Comparing two types of businesses is irrelevant.   So, this statement doesn't work.

GMAT2point0 · Answer

Is there just one question for this MSR?

Bunuel · Answer

___________________
It seems so.

bhanu29 · Answer

Assume that each of the following statements, about businesses served by Acme Electric, is true. For each statement, select  Yes  if the statement would provide additional support for the case made in the Op-ed tab that Acme Electric's pricing plan, as outlined in the Pricing tab, disproportionately burdens business owners. Otherwise, select  No .
   Yes  
 No

N 
 Businesses that are open at least some evenings Monday through Friday also tend to be open at some weekend times on Saturday or Sunday.  
 
  Y 
  
 The most intensive use of electricity during the hours 08:00 to 17:00, Monday through Friday, is by small businesses rather than residential users.

N 
 Service businesses tend to have longer hours than manufacturing businesses.

Businesses that are open at least some evenings Monday through Friday also tend to be open at some weekend times on Saturday or Sunday.
Wouldn't disproportionally affect small business owners as offpeak and midpeak prices are lower in comparison with the onpeak
No

The most intensive use of electricity during the hours 08:00 to 17:00, Monday through Friday, is by small businesses rather than residential users.
This would affect small businusses adversely as they'll paying more.
Yes

Service businesses tend to have longer hours than manufacturing businesses. 
Don't have any info regarding this classigication
No

Adit_ · Answer

Statement 1:
The relation between businesses running from Monday to Friday also running in the weekends is not something that is going to support his cause.
NO.

Statement 2:
This would definitely strengthen his case if small businesses run during the peak time as compared to the residential users and thus would be unfair to them due to the pricing hike.
YES.

Statement 3:
No mention of Service vs Manufacturing businesses and can be easily eliminated.
NO.

WildSnow · Answer

Just an unrelated question, but why in the TAB3, OFF PEAK readings are higher than MID PEAK in year 3, 4, and 5? It is confusing.

egmat · Answer

Hi WildSnow,

Good eye, and it's not really unrelated: this is exactly the kind of trap the  Usage Study  tab is built to spring.

The confusion comes from assuming "off-peak" means  less total electricity is used . But read the definition on that same tab carefully:

The three periods are "defined by reference to the  maximum levels of usage  sometimes attained during those periods."

So the labels  on-peak / mid-peak / off-peak  are about how high usage  spikes  at its peak moment in each period -  not  about how much total energy gets consumed across the whole period. On-peak just means the highest momentary usage sometimes gets reached there; off-peak means the highest momentary usage stays lowest there.

Now look at what the chart's y-axis actually plots:  total  mean daily  use - a running total, not a peak. Two different things:

-  Peak intensity  decides the label (on / mid / off).
-  Total volume  is what the lines show.

Those can point in opposite directions. Check the  Pricing  tab and you'll see why: the off-peak window is huge -  11  p.m.- 6  a.m. on weekdays  plus  11  p.m.- 10  a.m. on weekends. A long stretch of low-intensity, never-spiking usage can easily add up to  more total energy  than a shorter mid-peak window, even though its peaks never get high. So off-peak sitting above mid-peak in Years  3 - 5  is perfectly consistent.

A quick stand-in to lock it in:

-  Fact A:  A gentle faucet runs all night (never a strong flow, but  8  hours).
-  Fact B:  A strong faucet runs hard for  1  hour.

The night faucet never "peaks" high, yet it can fill  more  total water. "Off-peak" describes the weak flow; the total can still be larger. Same idea on the chart - no contradiction at all.

ZeroSquare · Answer

Hi Guys, 
What is your strategy while doing these questions? It took me approx 8 minutes to get this right. That includes going through the tabs, inferring, and taking smaller notes before reading the questions?