Noel R. from Missoula. Strange issue with NorthWestern Energy bill where kWh energy seems correct but kW demand appears wrong. Manufacturing plant typically runs 850 kW steady load but bills show 425 kW demand. Could the demand and energy have different multipliers programmed?
Demand vs Energy Multiplier Mismatch
Brenda S. in Spokane. Noel, that's definitely possible with some meter programming errors. What CT ratio is installed and what multipliers show on the meter display for both energy and demand?
Brenda - CTs are 1000:5 so multiplier should be 200. Energy multiplier shows 200 correctly but demand multiplier shows 100. Looks like someone programmed them differently during setup.
Randy here. Noel, that's a classic meter programming error where demand and energy multipliers get set independently. More common with older electronic meters. Request meter test focusing on the demand measurement accuracy. Document the multiplier display differences with photos.
Iris C. from Boise. Had similar issue with Idaho Power where demand multiplier was half the energy multiplier. Took 3 months to get them to acknowledge the programming error. Keep detailed load records to prove your actual demand levels.
Iris - exactly what I'm doing. Plant load is very steady so it's easy to prove actual demand. NorthWestern agreed to investigate after I sent photos of the different multipliers.
Dave L. from Eugene. Noel, what's your demand charge rate? With 425 kW under-billing vs 850 kW actual, you could be looking at significant back-billing once they fix it.
Dave - demand charge is $12.50/kW so the difference is about $5,300 monthly. Plant has run steady since January so annual back-billing could be $60,000+. Trying to negotiate reasonable settlement period.
Reggie H. from Memphis. Noel, most utilities limit back-billing to 12 months even when it's their error. Check Montana PSC rules on back-billing limits for meter errors.
Thanks Reggie. Montana PSC limits utility back-billing to 12 months for meter errors. NorthWestern fixed the multiplier and agreed to 12-month back-bill of $63,600. Painful but could have been worse if it ran longer.