Working in east Tennessee and I serve clients with Knoxville Utilities Board, Lenoir City Utilities, and Nashville Electric Service. All three are TVA distributors but each one has a completely different process for releasing billing data to a third party. KUB has a simple one-page form. Lenoir City wanted a notarized letter from the account holder. NES accepted my standard LOA with no questions. How can three utilities that all buy from the same wholesaler have such different paperwork requirements?
TVA distributors all have different LOA requirements
That's the nature of municipal utilities and cooperatives. They're independently governed even though TVA supplies their power. Each has its own board, its own policies, its own forms. I deal with MLGW here in Memphis and their process is different from all three of yours. They want the LOA on file plus a copy of the client's photo ID. My advice is to call ahead before submitting anything and ask exactly what they need. Saves you a rejection and a two-week delay.
Same story in Texas with the co-ops. Pedernales Electric wants one thing, Bluebonnet wants another. I started keeping a spreadsheet with every utility I've ever submitted an LOA to — columns for utility name, contact person, phone number, what they require, how they want it submitted, and typical turnaround time. After about 30 utilities it became the most valuable document in my practice.
Angela's spreadsheet idea is exactly right. Building your own utility contact database is one of the most valuable long-term investments in your practice. Every time you work with a new utility, document everything. That knowledge compounds over time and becomes a competitive advantage. A newer auditor might spend two weeks figuring out a utility's process that takes you five minutes because you already have the contact name and know exactly what form to submit.