Donna R from Tampa, FL. TECO Energy territory. Client sold a strip mall property and closed the electric accounts effective July 31. TECO confirmed the disconnection date as July 31 in writing. But the final bill covers July 1 through August 6 — six days past the confirmed close date. The new owner opened their own account on August 1, so TECO is billing two different customers for the same property for 6 days. My client does not owe for August 1-6 and should not be paying the demand charge for a 37-day period that extends past their close date.
Client closed account but got billed for 6 extra days
Donna, this is a common final bill error. The meter was not read on exactly July 31, so the billing system generated a bill through the next scheduled read date. TECO needs to prorate the final bill to July 31 using either an estimated read for that date or the daily average consumption. If they also billed the new owner from August 1, they are double-collecting for August 1-6. Straightforward correction — call TECO commercial billing with the disconnection confirmation letter.
Called TECO. The rep confirmed the disconnect was processed for July 31 but the final meter read was not performed until August 6 due to a scheduling backlog. She said they would adjust the bill to July 31 based on a prorated daily average. The adjustment reduced the final bill by $840 — the 6 extra days of energy plus the demand charge proration from 37 days to 31.
Donna, make sure your client is not still being charged the customer charge and any fixed monthly fees for those 6 days. Some billing systems keep assessing fixed charges until the final bill is processed, regardless of the disconnect date. And verify the new owner was not double-billed for the overlap period.
Beth, good call. The customer charge was billed for the full 37-day period at $48.50. Prorated to 31 days it should be $40.56. Another $7.94 to recover. Small but it is the principle. And I contacted the new owner — they were billed starting August 1 so no double billing on their end. TECO just overcharged my client for 6 days past the close.
Final resolution: TECO adjusted the final bill with a total credit of $848 covering the 6 extra days of energy, prorated demand, and the customer charge adjustment. Quick win but it reminds me to always check final bills carefully. The strip mall had 4 separate meters and the same 6-day overcharge applied to all four. Total credit across all accounts: $3,240.
$3,240 on final bill proration errors across 4 meters. And this is a fee-earning service you can offer to any client going through a property sale or business closure. Final bill auditing is a niche within the niche.