Property management company hired me to audit 65 commercial buildings across their portfolio. The challenge is they span 12 different utility territories - everything from Pacific Gas & Electric to Georgia Power. Each utility has different rate structures and billing practices. How do you standardize the audit process across such diverse territories?
Property management company audit - 12 different utilities
Meredith, I'd create a master checklist of common billing errors that apply regardless of utility - things like meter reading errors, rate classification problems, tax exemption issues. Then build utility-specific modules for unique tariff features. PG&E's time-of-use schedules are nothing like Georgia Power's seasonal rates.
Second Marcus's approach. Just finished a similar project with 40 locations across 8 utilities. The standardized checklist caught 70% of the errors. Utility-specific knowledge got the rest. Don't forget to check for stranded costs in deregulated markets - found $8,500 annual savings on those alone.
That makes perfect sense. I'll build the base checklist first, then research the unique aspects of each utility territory. This is going to be a learning experience! Any utilities on my list that are particularly tricky to work with?
Watch out for ConEd in New York - their rate schedules are byzantine and they're slow to respond to information requests. Also, some of the smaller municipal utilities have unusual billing practices you won't see elsewhere. Document everything!