Submitted an LOA to Westar Energy in Kansas for a warehouse client. They came back and said they can't process third-party requests on accounts with outstanding balances. The client has a payment dispute going back several months — they think one of their bills was estimated incorrectly and refused to pay it. Now I can't get the data I need to verify whether they're right about the estimated bill. Feels like a catch-22.
Utility won't release data because of an unpaid balance on the account
I've hit that with Westar too. Their policy is that the account has to be in good standing for third-party access. The workaround I used was having the client pay the disputed amount under protest and note it in writing to Westar. Once the balance showed current, they processed my LOA. After we got the data and confirmed the estimated bill was wrong, we filed for the refund of the disputed amount plus the other errors we found. Client got back everything they paid under protest and then some.
Bonnie's approach is the right one. Paying under protest preserves the client's right to dispute while clearing the administrative hurdle. Most states recognize payment under protest as preserving the customer's claim. Document everything in writing — the protest letter to the utility should clearly state the client is paying to maintain account access while reserving the right to dispute the charge.
Worked exactly as described. Client paid the disputed $3,400 under protest, Westar released the data, and we found the bill was estimated at about 40% higher than actual usage. Filed the dispute with supporting data and Westar credited back the full $3,400 plus we found a separate rate class issue worth another $1,800/month going forward. The payment under protest approach was the key to unlocking all of it.