Earl from Hialeah. Doing an engagement where I found both a rate class error and an opportunity to enroll in a demand response program. The demand response program would add a credit to the bill in exchange for load curtailment availability. Should I present these as one combined finding or keep them separate?
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Rate class and demand response — are they separate conversations
Catherine from Lexington. Separate. Rate class correction is a billing error recovery — straightforward, no ongoing obligation for the client. Demand response enrollment is a program choice with operational implications — the client has to agree to curtailment. Different conversations, different decision makers sometimes.
Catherine, does presenting them separately reduce the overall impact of my findings?
The opposite actually. Presenting them separately gives each finding its own moment of recognition. If you bundle them the smaller one gets lost. Present rate class first — it is the core audit finding. Then present demand response as an additional optimization you identified.
Eddie from Orlando. Also the dollar values are calculated differently. Rate class savings are ongoing monthly reductions. Demand response credits vary by event and season. Clients who see them bundled sometimes confuse the two and end up skeptical of both numbers.
Eddie that is a very practical point. Going to build two separate one-pagers — one for the rate class correction and one for demand response — and present them in sequence.
Catherine again. That format will make it much cleaner. The client can sign off on the rate class fix immediately and take time to think about demand response separately.
These really are separate questions and conflating them causes bad findings. The rate class is your billing basis; demand response is a program you opt into. Audit them independently.
Exactly. I've seen auditors credit DR savings against a rate-class error and double-count the benefit. Keep the two analyses in separate columns and the client's numbers stay honest.