New client is a manufacturing plant in Youngstown on Ohio Edison. I found a rate classification error that's been in place since at least 2007 based on the billing history I can see. The client wants me to pursue a refund going all the way back. Ohio's statute of limitations for contract claims is 6 years but I'm not sure if that applies to utility billing errors. Has anyone successfully gotten a refund going back more than 3-4 years?
Client wants me to go back 6 years — is that even possible?
In Ohio, the backbilling limit and the statute of limitations are two different things. The PUC backbilling rules typically limit how far back the UTILITY can adjust bills — usually 3 years. But when the customer is requesting a refund for overcharges, the statute of limitations for unjust enrichment or breach of contract may give you a longer window. I've gotten 4-year refunds from Ohio Edison by citing the contract statute. Never tried 6 though.
The longest refund I ever got was 5 years from Dominion Virginia. The key was proving the error was continuous and the customer had no way to discover it without expert analysis. Virginia applies a discovery rule in some cases — the clock doesn't start until the error is discovered or should have been discovered. If your client is a manufacturer with no billing expertise on staff, you can make a strong argument that the clock didn't start until you audited the bills.
This is an area where you need to understand both the utility's tariff rules and the state's civil statute of limitations. They're separate legal frameworks. The tariff usually sets a backbilling limit of 1-3 years for routine adjustments. But a claim for overcharges based on a billing error may fall under contract law or unjust enrichment, which has a longer statute of limitations in most states — typically 4-6 years. The discovery rule that Phil mentioned is powerful because many billing errors are genuinely impossible for a layperson to detect. Document when and how you discovered the error and present that timeline to the utility.
This is incredibly helpful. Going to frame it as a contract claim with discovery rule argument. The error is a misapplied rate class that requires tariff expertise to identify — no way the plant manager would have caught it. Will report back on how far they go.