Quick question for the group. CPS Energy in San Antonio gave one of my clients a 39-day billing cycle last month (April 12 - May 20). The energy charges look correct when I calculate them out, but I'm questioning the customer charge. They billed the full monthly customer charge of $127.50 for the GP-2 schedule. Shouldn't this be prorated? The tariff says "monthly customer charge" but doesn't specify how to handle extended periods.
CPS Energy 39-day cycle question
Angela, customer charges are typically prorated for billing periods that deviate significantly from standard monthly cycles. For a 39-day period, the customer charge should be approximately $127.50 × (39/30) = $166.25, not the standard $127.50. If they're undercharging the customer charge, they might be overcharging somewhere else to compensate. Check the demand charges and energy rates carefully.
Thanks Randy. I did the math and you're right - customer charge should be higher for the extended period. But looking closer at the bill, they applied some kind of "billing adjustment factor" to the energy charges that inflated them by about $38. So they're making up for the customer charge undercharge by overcharging energy. The net effect is still an overcharge to my client. This seems deliberately confusing.
That's exactly the kind of shell game these utilities play. They know most customers won't catch the cross-subsidization between different charge categories. File a dispute and demand they show you the exact calculation methodology for each charge component. CPS Energy has been pretty responsive to formal complaints in my experience. Don't let them get away with these convoluted billing adjustments.