Currently auditing a VA hospital that underwent major renovations from 2014-2016. During construction, their demand spiked due to temporary equipment and they're still being billed based on those elevated levels under PSE&G's ratchet provisions. The hospital thinks they should get relief since it was temporary construction load, but I'm not sure if there's precedent for that argument. Anyone dealt with construction-related demand issues at government facilities?
VA Hospital - demand charges during construction
Derek, that's a tough one. Most tariffs don't distinguish between 'regular' demand and construction demand - a kW is a kW to them. However, some utilities have provisions for temporary service connections during construction that might have helped if they'd set it up right initially. You might also check if the construction contractor was supposed to provide their own temporary service.
Government facilities sometimes have different rules or more negotiating power with utilities. I'd dig into whether the VA has any master agreements with PSE&G that might address this situation. Also worth checking if the construction was federally funded - sometimes that creates additional requirements for utilities to accommodate the project. The worst they can say is no, but government customers often get more consideration than private ones.