Working with a nonprofit assisted living facility in North Carolina on Duke Energy. They've been paying standard commercial rates but I think they should qualify for nonprofit tax exemption status. The facility director says they applied years ago but were denied. Anyone know what the specific requirements are for assisted living to get nonprofit utility rates? They're definitely 501(c)(3) certified.
Assisted living facility tax exemption question
Duke Energy can be picky about nonprofit status for assisted living. They sometimes distinguish between "charitable care" facilities and those that are primarily fee-for-service. Even with 501(c)(3) status, they might require a certain percentage of residents be charity cases or Medicaid patients. Have you seen their specific nonprofit tariff requirements?
That makes sense. This facility does have about 40% Medicaid residents, so they should qualify under charitable care requirements. I'll need to dig into Duke's nonprofit rider language more carefully.
Had a similar case in Florida with FPL. The key was documenting the charitable care percentage and getting the right paperwork to the utility. Saved the facility about $15K annually in taxes once we got it straightened out. Worth the effort for sure.