I've been reviewing a client's Rocky Mountain Power bills here in Salt Lake and their supply charges seem way off. They're paying $0.089/kWh for generation when the market rate should be closer to $0.065. The delivery charges look right but this supply component is killing them. Anyone else seeing inflated generation rates from RMP lately? My client is a small manufacturer with about 500kW demand so they should qualify for better rates.
Rocky Mountain Power supply charges - something fishy?
Connie, what rate schedule are they on? Here in Nevada with NV Energy we see similar issues when customers get stuck on default service rates instead of competitive supply. Your client might be on Schedule 6A or 8 instead of the industrial rate they qualify for. Check if they're actually in the deregulated supply program or just taking standard offer service.
Good catch Cliff. Turns out they were auto-enrolled in the default supply service when deregulation kicked in but never switched to a competitive supplier. The utility kept them on standard offer at $0.089 while competitive rates were available at $0.062-$0.068. We're looking at about $18,000 in overcharges over the past two years. Now to find out if we can get any of that back.
You probably won't get a refund but definitely get them switched ASAP. Georgia Power went through similar issues during our deregulation transition. The key is documenting that the customer wasn't properly notified of competitive options. Some utilities will offer bill credits if you can prove inadequate disclosure.
Derek's right about documentation. Here in Delaware with Delmarva Power we keep detailed records of all customer notifications. File a complaint with your state PUC if the utility didn't follow proper enrollment procedures. We've gotten clients bill adjustments of $5,000-$15,000 when utilities failed to provide adequate notice of supply options.
Same story here in Tennessee with TVA territory. The transition confusion cost customers millions. Make sure to check their contract terms too - some default supply agreements have early termination fees even though customers never agreed to them. Always read the fine print on these deregulated supply contracts.
Update: We got them switched to a competitive supplier at $0.064/kWh effective next month. The PUC complaint is moving forward and Rocky Mountain agreed to review their notification procedures. Not expecting a full refund but this should save them $15K+ annually going forward. Thanks everyone for the guidance.