Lee C from Savannah, GA. Georgia Power territory. Got into a dispute with GP over whether Saturdays are on-peak or off-peak for my client on the TOU-GS-7 rate. The tariff I downloaded from GP website says weekdays only for on-peak. But the bill shows on-peak charges for Saturday consumption. My client is a large car dealership with a service center — they do heavy business on Saturdays and the on-peak Saturday charges add about $1,100/month. Called GP and the rep said Saturdays have always been on-peak for that rate. I said the tariff says weekdays. She said I have the wrong tariff version.
Are Saturdays on-peak or off-peak? Depends on the tariff version
Lee, tariff version discrepancies are more common than they should be. Utility websites are not always updated promptly after tariff revisions. The authoritative source is the tariff on file with the Georgia PSC, not the utility website. Pull the filed tariff directly from the PSC docket and compare it to what the website shows. If the website version is outdated and favors the customer, you might have a case for the period the incorrect version was posted.
Randy, pulled the PSC filed tariff. The currently effective version (revised January 2013) does include Saturdays as on-peak for TOU-GS-7. But the version that was on the GP website when I downloaded it (dated September 2011) says weekdays only. GP updated their website about 2 weeks after I called. The old version was posted for over 18 months after the revision.
Lee, if GP published an incorrect tariff on their website for 18 months and your client relied on that information — for example by scheduling heavy Saturday operations believing they were off-peak — you might have an estoppel argument. The customer reasonably relied on the utility published information to their detriment.
Albert, I like that angle. The dealership general manager told me he specifically expanded Saturday service hours last year because he looked up the rate and saw Saturdays were off-peak. He even kept the printout. That is documented reliance on the incorrect utility website.
Filed a formal complaint with the Georgia PSC citing the 18-month posting of an outdated tariff on GP website and the customer documented reliance on that incorrect information. The PSC staff investigated and confirmed GP had been slow to update. They ordered GP to credit my client for the on-peak Saturday charges for the period the incorrect tariff was posted — January 2013 through July 2013 when I raised the issue. Credit: $7,700. Going forward Saturdays are on-peak per the correct tariff, but the client got relief for the period GP misled them. GP was also ordered to implement a 30-day website update policy for all future tariff revisions.