Has anyone run into situations where small retail businesses have outdoor signage that should be on a separate lighting rate? I'm looking at a strip mall tenant with significant LED signage that's all being billed on their main commercial account. Seems like it might qualify for a different rate schedule.
Lighting and signage tariff errors
Rick, this depends heavily on the utility and local regulations. Some require separate meters for outdoor lighting/signage above certain wattage levels, others allow it on the main commercial account. What utility territory are you in?
This is AEP Ohio territory. The signage is pretty substantial - probably 15-20 kW worth of LED displays. I'll dig into their lighting tariff to see if there are requirements for separate metering.
AEP definitely has separate outdoor lighting rates, and they can be significantly cheaper than commercial rates for signage applications. Worth checking the installation date too - if the signage was added after the original service, they might have missed the requirement for separate metering.