I've got three commercial clients here in Charlotte that all got hit with 29-day billing periods from Duke Energy last month. All Schedule GS-1 accounts. The proration looks correct at first glance but when I dig into the demand calculations something's off. Anyone else in Duke territory seeing shorter billing periods lately? My clients are getting hammered on the demand charges because of how they're calculating the daily average.
Duke Energy 29-day billing period - anyone else seeing this?
Derek, I'm seeing the same thing with Georgia Power down here in Atlanta. Had a client with a 28-day period last month on Schedule GS-2. The demand proration formula they used didn't match their published tariff. Called them and they claimed it was a "system adjustment" for meter reading efficiency. Sounds like BS to me. Did your clients get any explanation?
This is becoming a pattern across the Southeast utilities. TVA territory here in Knoxville - I've seen 30, 29, and even 27-day periods in the last six months. The worst part is they're not adjusting the customer charge proration correctly. One client got charged the full $47.50 customer charge on a 27-day period. That's $1.76 per day instead of the proper $1.55. Adds up fast across multiple accounts.
PECO is doing this too up here in Philly. Schedule GS billing periods all over the map - 31 days, 28 days, 33 days. The 33-day period really killed one of my restaurant clients because their peak demand happened to fall during a heat wave. Instead of spreading that demand over 30 days, they got stuck with it over 33 days but the rate calculation didn't adjust properly. Cost them an extra $340 that month.
Phil, that's exactly what I'm seeing! The demand calculation should be prorated but they're applying the full monthly rate structure. I've got documentation going back to 2008 showing consistent 30-day periods from Duke, then suddenly in February this year everything went haywire. Filed complaints with the NC Utilities Commission but haven't heard back yet. This could be millions in overcharges across their territory.
Nashville Electric Service just pulled the same stunt on four of my accounts. 26-day billing period in March but full monthly charges across the board. Customer charges, demand charges, even the TVA fuel adjustment wasn't prorated. When I called billing they said the proration "only applies to energy charges." That's not what their tariff says. Anyone have success fighting these?
Ed, Alabama Power tried that same line with me last year. "Energy only proration" - complete garbage. I pulled their filed tariff from the PSC website and showed them Section 4.2 clearly states ALL charges are subject to proration for billing periods other than 30 days. Got $1,200 in credits for one client alone. Don't let them get away with it.
Val, can you share which section of Alabama Power's tariff you referenced? I want to use similar language with NES. These utilities think we don't read the fine print but that's literally our job. The amount of money they're stealing through "innocent" billing period manipulation is staggering when you multiply it across thousands of accounts.