After completing audits on three major retail chains over the past year, I'm seeing consistent patterns in rate schedule errors. About 40% of locations are on sub-optimal rate schedules, usually because they were set up years ago and never reviewed. Stores that expanded or reduced operating hours but kept the same rate. Anyone else noticing these trends in retail portfolio work?
Common rate schedule errors across retail chains
Gil, absolutely seeing the same thing. Retail is probably the worst sector for rate optimization neglect. Store managers focus on sales, not utility bills. I just finished a drugstore chain where 60% of locations could save money by switching from general service to time-of-use rates. Some savings were $800+ per month per store.
The operating hours issue is huge. I've seen stores that switched to 24-hour operations but stayed on schedules that penalize night usage. Or conversely, stores that cut back to 10am-8pm but kept time-of-use rates designed for extended hours. Retail operations change but nobody tells the utility.
Beatrice, $800/month per store adds up fast across a whole chain! Bernard, exactly - the disconnect between operations and utility billing is massive in retail. I'm starting to recommend annual rate reviews as part of my reports. Most chains have never even considered it as routine maintenance.