Carl from Nashville. Client's warehouse suffered a roof collapse in one section. The affected section was closed for 6 months while repairs were made. During that period the facility operated at roughly 40 percent of normal capacity. The demand charges stayed high because the undamaged sections kept running. Is there any billing adjustment available for a casualty event that reduces operations?
Demand charge on a facility that was damaged and operating at reduced capacity
Karen from Boise. Utilities sometimes have provisions for casualty or force majeure events that allow billing adjustments. Worth checking the tariff and filing service conditions section for language about damage, force majeure, or extraordinary circumstances.
Carl again. I checked and the tariff does not mention casualty events specifically in the billing provisions.
Karen again. In that case the billing adjustment avenue is limited. However if the ratchet was set by a pre-damage peak demand and the client now operates at 40 percent capacity, the forward-looking argument is to establish a new lower demand baseline as quickly as possible so the ratchet resets at the new operating level.
Tim from Denver. Carl, also check whether the client filed an insurance claim. If the business interruption claim quantified the reduced operations it creates documentation that might support a regulatory argument for billing relief even if no tariff provision exists.
Tim the client did file a business interruption claim. The insurer's assessment documented the reduced capacity period precisely. That documentation is very detailed.
Tim again. That documentation is valuable. Even if the utility declines billing relief you could use it at the PUC as part of a complaint showing the disproportionate billing impact during the casualty period. Some state commissions have equitable relief authority that goes beyond the tariff text.