Got a client in Wichita who received a 33-day billing period from Westar Energy last month. Previous bills were all 30-31 days. Customer is seeing a $47 jump but usage looks normal per day. Is this just a calendar quirk or should I be looking for something else? Client is on residential Schedule R-1 if that matters.
Westar billing me for 33-day period - normal?
Bonnie, that's pretty common especially after holidays or meter reading route changes. Duquesne here in Pittsburgh does the same thing occasionally. The key is checking if they prorated correctly for demand charges if it's a commercial account. For residential it should just be the extra days at the normal rate.
Walt's right about the route changes. FirstEnergy did a big reorganization here in Ohio back in 2009 and we saw tons of weird billing periods for months. What you want to watch for is if they're using the right number of days in any demand calculations. I've seen utilities mess up the demand proration factor when periods get extended.
Thanks both - it's just residential so no demand charges to worry about. I calculated it out and the math works for 33 days. Guess I'll let this one slide. Client was just spooked by the higher bill amount without looking at the days.
Bonnie, you might want to document this for future reference. Georgia Power occasionally does 33-35 day periods and I always get panicked calls from clients. Having a standard explanation ready saves time. I tell them to look at their cost per day instead of the total bill.
Rachel brings up a good point about documentation. Duke Energy here in Charlotte has been pretty consistent with 30-day cycles, but when they do vary I keep a spreadsheet of the pattern. Helps identify if there's a systematic issue versus just calendar adjustments.
I track the same thing Derek does. NES in Nashville runs pretty tight cycles but I've learned to always check the service period dates first before diving into rate analysis. Saves embarrassment when talking to clients about bill increases.
Great suggestions everyone. I'm going to start keeping a log of billing periods for my regular clients. Would make it easier to spot patterns and explain variations. Thanks for the reality check!