I need help with the most ridiculous billing error I've ever seen. Entergy Arkansas somehow managed to create overlapping billing periods for one of my largest clients - a manufacturing plant on Schedule LGS. They have July 15-August 14 AND August 1-August 31 periods on consecutive bills. So August 1-14 got billed TWICE. We're talking about 2.4 million kWh of overlap at $0.086 per kWh plus double demand charges. Client got hit for an extra $206,000. Entergy claims it's a "meter reading adjustment" but won't explain how that creates overlapping periods.
Entergy Arkansas overlapping billing periods nightmare
Helen, that's insane even by utility standards. I've seen AEP do some creative billing here in Indiana but never overlapping periods. Did they at least acknowledge the error? $206K is worth fighting all the way to the state commission. Do you have copies of both bills showing the date overlap?
Greg, I've got everything documented. Both bills clearly show the overlapping dates. Entergy's first response was "the customer used that much energy." When I pointed out they can't use the same kWh twice in one month, they switched to claiming the July bill was "estimated" and the August bill was "actual." But both bills show actual meter readings! I've never seen such obvious double billing in 15 years of doing this.
Helen, I had something similar with Duke Energy in 2012 but only a 3-day overlap. Took six months to resolve and required intervention from the NC Utilities Commission. The key was proving the meter readings were sequential - you can't have meter reading X on July 15 and meter reading Y on August 1 if Y is less than what the meter showed on July 15 plus 17 days of usage. Basic math that utilities try to ignore.
This happened to one of my clients with Xcel Energy here in Minneapolis. Overlapping periods in winter when natural gas prices spiked. The double-billing on fuel adjustment charges alone was $15,000. Turned out their billing system had a bug that triggered when meter readers couldn't access the meter for two consecutive months. Instead of estimating, it created phantom billing periods. Took a formal complaint to get resolution.
Hank's right about the billing system bugs. MLGW here in Memphis had a similar issue in 2013 where their new meter data management system created overlaps during the conversion. Affected about 200 commercial accounts. The problem is these utilities don't want to admit systemic errors because it opens them up to massive refund liability. Helen, you might need to find other affected customers to make this a class action issue.
Amir, that's brilliant. I've been treating this as an isolated incident but if it's a system bug there have to be others. Do you know how MLGW customers found each other? I'm thinking about posting on some Arkansas business forums to see if other Entergy customers got hit. $206K suggests this isn't a small glitch - it's a major system failure that probably affected dozens of accounts.
Helen, in Memphis the local business journal picked up the story after three companies compared notes at a chamber meeting. Once it went public, MLGW had to admit the scope. Turned out to be 180 accounts with overlaps totaling $2.3 million in overcharges. They cut refund checks within 30 days rather than fight bad publicity. You might want to reach out to Arkansas Business or the Democrat-Gazette.
I'm dealing with PG&E overlap billing right now in Fresno. Three accounts, all Schedule A-10 TOU. The overlaps are smaller - 5 to 8 days each - but the timing hit right during peak summer rates. $18,000 total overcharge across the three accounts. PG&E keeps saying it's a "meter reading schedule optimization" but won't explain why optimization requires charging for the same usage twice.
Dan, "meter reading schedule optimization" is utility-speak for "we screwed up and don't want to admit it." Dominion tried that phrase on me last month for a 12-day overlap on a Schedule GS-3 account in Richmond. The key is demanding they explain exactly how "optimization" justifies double billing. They can't because it doesn't. File a formal complaint and watch how fast they find the "error" in their system.
Update: Found two more Entergy Arkansas customers with overlapping periods in July/August. Combined overcharges now at $380,000. Called the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette this morning and they're interested in the story. Also filed a formal complaint with the Arkansas PSC. Thanks everyone for the advice - this is turning into something much bigger than one account error.