Anyone dealing with Consumers Energy in Michigan right now? They've completely botched the proration calculations on several of my commercial accounts. One client in Grand Rapids had a 42-day billing period in January (Dec 15 - Jan 25) and they prorated EVERYTHING wrong. Customer charges were doubled, demand charges were inflated by 40%, and even the energy charges seem off. The total bill was $8,400 instead of the expected $6,200. Their explanation makes no sense and customer service keeps transferring me between departments.
Consumers Energy proration disaster
Tina, that sounds exactly like what Green Mountain Power did up here in Vermont last year. Extended billing periods combined with wrong proration formulas. The key is demanding they show you the exact calculation methodology they're using. Most utilities just multiply everything by (actual days/30) which is wrong for demand charges and customer charges. Demand should be actual peak demand, and customer charges should be prorated by (actual days/days in month).
This is a recurring issue across multiple utilities since they've been upgrading billing systems. I've seen similar problems with MLGW, Entergy, and now apparently Consumers Energy. The new automated systems are applying proration algorithms that weren't properly configured for different charge types. Demand charges should NEVER be prorated up - they should reflect actual peak demand during the billing period. File formal complaints with the Michigan PSC if Consumers won't fix this voluntarily.
Thanks Randy. I've now documented this across 6 different accounts, all with extended January billing periods. The pattern is consistent - they're treating demand charges like energy charges and prorating them up. One account with actual peak demand of 320 kW got billed for an equivalent 427 kW after their "proration adjustment." That's a $640 overcharge just on demand for one month. Filing PSC complaints this week for all affected accounts.
Good approach Tina. Make sure you request the actual interval meter data when you file those complaints. The PSC will want to see proof that the billed demand charges don't match the recorded peak demand. I've found that regulatory pressure usually gets these billing system errors fixed much faster than working through customer service channels. Keep us posted on how the PSC responds.
Update: PSC contacted Consumers Energy directly and they've admitted to a "billing system configuration error" affecting extended billing periods in January and February. They're promising automatic credits for all affected accounts within 30 days. The error was exactly what we suspected - demand charges were being prorated as if they were energy charges. Total recovery for my clients should be around $4,200 once all the credits are applied.
Excellent work Tina! This is exactly why we need to stay vigilant about these billing system updates. The utilities rarely test these changes thoroughly before implementation. Chester here - I'm going to check my Vermont accounts to see if Green Mountain Power had similar issues during their January billing cycles. These systemic errors often affect multiple utilities using the same billing software vendors.
Chester, definitely worth checking. I suspect this might be an Oracle or SAP billing system issue since multiple utilities have had similar problems. The credits started showing up this week and they're accurate so far. Consumers Energy also agreed to implement additional quality control checks for extended billing periods going forward. Sometimes it pays to make noise with the regulators.
This is a great case study for everyone to reference. When you see systematic proration errors like this, it's almost always a billing system configuration problem affecting multiple accounts. Document everything, file regulatory complaints, and don't accept "it's within normal variance" as an answer. The utilities know when they have these issues but hope most customers won't notice or complain.
Final update: All credits have been applied correctly. Total recovery was $4,180 across the 6 accounts. Consumers Energy also sent letters to all affected customers explaining the error and the correction. This whole process took about 5 weeks from initial discovery to final resolution. Thanks to everyone who provided guidance - regulatory pressure definitely made the difference here.
Outstanding outcome Tina. Your documentation and persistence got results not just for your clients but probably hundreds of other affected customers. This is exactly the kind of work that justifies our profession. Well done!