Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun One that pays rates.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One who is assessed and pays a rate or local tax.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun One who pays rates or taxes.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Someone who pays for utility service

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a person who pays local rates (especially a householder)

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

rate +‎ payer

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Examples

  • As for everyone having solar panels on their roof, selling excess power back to "the system", keep in mind that the power system is set up to distrubute power from a few big generating stations to you, the "ratepayer".

    Economics of Hydrogen, II, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty 2009

  • The independents on the council are in the old-fashioned "ratepayer" =independent Tory mold.

    Morning Live Blog 2007

  • Our country's history with wind power consists of grand promises from politicians, huge investments of taxpayer dollars, ratepayer sacrifice and embarrassingly underwhelming returns.

    Overcoming President Obama's Wind Power Addiction 2011

  • Our country's history with wind power consists of grand promises from politicians, huge investments of taxpayer dollars, ratepayer sacrifice and embarrassingly underwhelming returns.

    Overcoming President Obama's Wind Power Addiction 2011

  • So in theory at least, risks would be transferred from the utility to the ratepayer with utilities at least guaranteed to break even.

    Nuclear Power In The Dock 2011

  • Our country's history with wind power consists of grand promises from politicians, huge investments of taxpayer dollars, ratepayer sacrifice and embarrassingly underwhelming returns.

    Overcoming President Obama's Wind Power Addiction 2011

  • Further, if BWW decided to sell McCall's they would realize the gain and what was once public property would no longer benefit that public except for the $3-4 credit to the ratepayer ledger from BWW.

    More hemming and hawing on Lents meeting procedure (Jack Bog's Blog) 2009

  • Our country's history with wind power consists of grand promises from politicians, huge investments of taxpayer dollars, ratepayer sacrifice and embarrassingly underwhelming returns.

    Overcoming President Obama's Wind Power Addiction 2011

  • “Stephen Ward, chief of staff for Senate Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N. M, said Wednesday that lawmakers fear a ratepayer backlash” if carbon pollution is capped, telling “a room full of alternative-energy financiers at the Lazard Capital Markets Alternative Energy Investor Summit” that he foresees “a more modest bill” than Waxman-Markey coming from the Senate.

    Wonk Room » The WonkLine: June 4, 2009 2009

  • This does not reduce the actual cost; it just transfers it to the general taxpayer or ratepayer.

    Coyote Blog » Blog Archive » This Looks Very Good 2009

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