Nashville Electric Service estimated one of my clients at 150% of normal usage for 6 consecutive months. When they finally got an actual reading, the customer had overpaid by $4,200. NES issued credits but won't pay interest on the overpayment amount. In Tennessee, are customers entitled to interest when utilities overcharge due to estimation errors? This seems like the utility had an interest-free loan from my client for 6 months.
NES estimated high for 6 months - how to get interest on overpayments?
Ed, I don't think Tennessee has specific rules requiring interest on overpayments from estimation errors. TVA territory is different but for municipal utilities like NES, it's usually at their discretion. You might have better luck arguing for waived fees or expedited refund processing. Have you tried escalating to NES management? Sometimes they'll negotiate to avoid regulatory complaints.
Terry's right about Tennessee rules being limited. Here in Memphis with MLGW, they rarely pay interest on overpayments unless there's clear negligence. Six months of high estimates probably doesn't meet that bar. But definitely worth pushing for some compensation - maybe they'll waive connection fees on future services or provide priority meter reading to prevent future estimation runs.
Good suggestion Amir. Ed, frame it as customer service recovery rather than demanding legal entitlement to interest. NES might offer something like free energy audits, waived late fees for a year, or guaranteed monthly actual reads. Sometimes these utilities are more willing to provide services than cash payments.