Gary from Tampa. Client had a brief utility outage — about 40 minutes. When power was restored all their motors started simultaneously. The demand reading for that 15-minute window was roughly 3 times their normal peak. The utility billed that restored-power spike as the demand for the month. My argument is that the spike was caused by the utility's own outage, not by anything the client did. Is this recoverable?
Client's demand spiked because of a utility-side outage — can that reading be removed
Karen from Boise. Yes this is a legitimate dispute and it has precedent. The utility caused the condition that led to the spike by interrupting service. The simultaneous motor restart is a foreseeable consequence of the utility's outage.
Karen, how do I document that the spike was caused by the outage and not by some other simultaneous event?
Karen again. Request the utility's outage records for that day and location. They will show the outage start and end times. Cross-reference with the interval data to show that the demand spike occurred in the exact 15-minute window when power was restored. The timing correlation makes the argument essentially irrefutable.
Nancy from St. Louis. I handled almost exactly this scenario two years ago. The utility's own outage records confirmed a 38-minute interruption. The peak demand spike occurred in the restoration window. The utility accepted the dispute and rebilled the month using the client's second-highest demand reading.
Nancy that is exactly the outcome I am hoping for. Did the utility acknowledge the principle voluntarily or did it take a formal dispute?
Nancy again. It took a formal written dispute with the outage documentation attached. They did not volunteer anything but they did not fight it either once I submitted the paperwork.