Heads up everyone - found Duke Energy Ohio billing commercial accounts for PIPP (Percentage of Income Payment Plan) surcharges when they shouldn't be. PIPP is supposed to be residential-only per Ohio Revised Code 4928.52. Caught this on a manufacturing client's bill - they're getting hit for $127/month on a 500 kW account under tariff DP. The charge shows up as "PIPP Adj" but there's no legal basis for commercial PIPP charges. Anyone else seeing this in Ohio?
Duke Energy Midwest unauthorized PIPP charges
Cecilia, that's a significant error. PIPP cost recovery is supposed to come from residential customer charges and a small universal service fund. Commercial accounts should never see PIPP line items. What's Duke's explanation when you contacted them? This could be a billing system error affecting hundreds of accounts.
Dale, Duke's customer service rep had no clue what I was talking about. Escalated to their commercial billing department and they're "investigating." Meanwhile the charges keep showing up monthly. I've pulled the PUCO tariffs and there's definitely no provision for commercial PIPP recovery. This looks like a systematic billing error, not a one-off mistake.
Similar issue down here with Alabama Power, but different program. They were billing industrial accounts for "Low Income Weatherization" charges that are supposed to be residential-only. Took 6 months and a PSC complaint to get refunds. Document everything and file with PUCO if Duke doesn't fix this quickly.
Terrence is right about documentation. We had Santee Cooper billing commercial accounts for residential energy efficiency program costs. The key is getting the utility to admit the error in writing, then demanding refunds with interest. These "mistakes" are usually profitable until someone calls them out.
Update: Duke finally admitted the PIPP charges were applied incorrectly due to a "billing system configuration error" during their recent software upgrade. They're crediting affected accounts going back 6 months. Still waiting on interest calculations. Lesson learned - always scrutinize bills after utility system changes.
Great outcome Cecilia! Six months of overcharges at $127/month per account adds up fast. Did Duke provide a list of all affected customers or are you having to identify them individually? This is exactly why we need to stay vigilant on these regulatory cost recovery mechanisms.
Duke claims they're "automatically identifying and crediting" all affected accounts, but I don't trust their billing system accuracy given this error. I'm recommending all our Ohio commercial clients review their bills for any PIPP-related charges. The total overcharge could be in the millions across Duke's commercial customer base.
Cecilia, you might want to reach out to other auditing firms in Ohio. If this is affecting hundreds of accounts, a coordinated complaint to PUCO could get better results than individual customer complaints. Safety in numbers when dealing with utility overcharges this size.
This is why automated billing systems are dangerous without proper oversight. Utilities rush to implement new software but don't test edge cases like program-specific charges. Always worth checking bills extra carefully for 3-6 months after any utility announces "system improvements."
Excellent detective work Cecilia. These billing system errors are becoming more common as utilities upgrade their ancient mainframe systems. The good news is once you catch one error, there are usually others hiding in the same system. I'd recommend reviewing all rider and surcharge categories on Duke commercial bills, not just PIPP. You might find more gold in them hills.