Working on an office building in Memphis served by MLGW. Their Schedule E-3 has a "Facilities Charge" that seems to be based on connected load, not actual demand. Anyone familiar with how MLGW calculates this? It's $847/month.
MLGW Memphis - interpreting "facilities charge" in Schedule E-3
Roy - MLGW's facilities charge is based on the size of the transformer and service entrance equipment. It's supposed to recover the cost of distribution infrastructure. Check if the connected load on file matches the actual equipment.
I've seen cases where MLGW had the wrong transformer size on file, especially after equipment upgrades. Request a field inspection if you think the charge is wrong. They'll usually do it for free.
Good call Calvin. I checked and they have 500kVA on file but the actual transformer is only 300kVA. The building owner downsized during a renovation in 2019 but never notified MLGW.
How do you request the field inspection? Is there a specific form or just call customer service?
Hannah - I called their commercial services line and explained the discrepancy. They scheduled an inspection within 2 weeks. The technician updated their records on the spot and the facilities charge dropped to $508/month.
Roy - that's about $340/month savings, or over $4,000 annually. Nice find! This is why it pays to understand what each line item on the bill actually represents.