Hey everyone, Karl J. here from Santa Ana. Working on a Duke Energy account in North Carolina and they've got a manufacturing client on Schedule GS-2 when they should clearly be on industrial Schedule LGS. Peak demand consistently runs 850-900 kW but they're paying commercial rates. The facility runs three shifts with metal fabrication equipment and qualifies for industrial classification under Duke's tariff. Anyone dealt with Duke's reclassification process recently?
Duke Energy misclassified our client as General Service - need help with reclassification
Wayne P. here from Charlotte - I deal with Duke all the time. You'll need at least 12 months of interval data showing consistent industrial usage patterns. Duke requires documentation of the manufacturing process and SIC code verification. Their industrial team is actually pretty cooperative once you have the right paperwork. What's the client's SIC code?
SIC 3441 - fabricated structural metal. Load factor runs about 78% which should definitely qualify. The frustrating part is they've been on the wrong rate for 3 years and we're looking at about $47K in potential savings annually. Duke initially pushed back saying the demand wasn't consistent enough but the interval data clearly shows otherwise.
Randy Dawson here - Karl, that SIC code definitely qualifies for industrial rates under Duke's classification criteria. For retroactive recovery, Duke typically allows up to 24 months if you can prove the misclassification was their error from the start. You'll want to reference Duke's Schedule LGS tariff section 2.3 which outlines qualification criteria. Document everything in writing and escalate to their Key Accounts team if the local reps won't cooperate. I've seen similar cases where persistence paid off - one member recovered $180K in retroactive credits. Keep pushing and make sure to copy their regulatory affairs department on correspondence.
Roy H. from Birmingham - had a similar situation with Alabama Power last year. The key was getting their industrial classification team involved rather than working through regular customer service. Also helped to reference specific tariff language about manufacturing processes. Ended up getting 18 months retroactive and saved the client $28K annually going forward.
Carol J. here - be prepared for Duke to require a site visit to verify manufacturing operations. They sent an engineer to one of my clients and wanted to see production schedules, equipment nameplate data, and proof of three-shift operations. Documentation is everything with these reclassifications.
Wayne again - Carol's right about the site visit. Also make sure you're not missing any TOU options on the industrial schedule. Duke's Schedule LGS-TOU can save another 8-12% if your client has flexible operations. The off-peak rates are significantly better than standard LGS.
Great advice everyone. Wayne, the TOU option looks promising - client runs skeleton crew on weekends and could shift some operations. Filed the formal reclassification request yesterday with all documentation. Duke assigned it case number NC-2024-0947. Will keep you posted on progress. Really appreciate the help!
Update - Duke approved the reclassification! Took 6 weeks but they granted industrial Schedule LGS effective October 1st. Even better, they agreed to 20 months retroactive adjustment worth $78,400. The key was that detailed manufacturing documentation and Randy's suggestion to copy regulatory affairs. Thanks again everyone!