Been auditing PSE&G accounts in north Jersey and seeing fuel adjustment swings of 15-20% month to month on some commercial accounts. The tariff mentions Schedule FA but I'm having trouble getting straight answers from their reps about what drives these fluctuations. Anyone else seeing similar volatility with PSE&G fuel adjustments? The monthly kWh usage is consistent but the per-kWh fuel charge keeps bouncing around between $0.032 and $0.041.
PSE&G fuel adjustment clause - what's normal variance?
Tony, that's pretty typical for PSE&G actually. Their fuel adjustment methodology uses a rolling 12-month average but they true-up quarterly based on actual fuel costs. Natural gas prices were all over the place in 2011 so you're seeing that reflected now. I audit several clients in central Jersey and have seen the same pattern. The key is making sure they're applying the published rates correctly - I've caught billing errors where they used the wrong month's FA factor.
Pam's right about the methodology. Duke Energy here in Charlotte uses a similar approach but with monthly reconciliation. What I'd suggest is requesting the actual fuel cost data from PSE&G for your audit period - they have to provide it under NJ regulations. Compare their calculated FA factors to what's on your bills. I found a $4,800 overcharge last year when a client was billed using the wrong zone's fuel factor for three months.
Thanks for the input. Derek, how do you typically request that fuel cost data? Do you go through the standard customer service channels or is there a specific department that handles audit requests? I've been getting the runaround from their regular billing department.
Tony, you need to file a formal data request with PSE&G's regulatory affairs department. Reference NJ administrative code 14:3-7.6 which requires them to provide supporting documentation for rate calculations. I've used this approach with APS here in Arizona for their fuel adjustments. Usually takes 10-15 business days but they have to respond. Make sure to specify the exact months and account numbers you need data for.
Sarah's spot on about the formal request process. Also worth noting that PSE&G publishes their monthly fuel factors on their website under the tariffs section, usually by the 15th of each month. Cross-reference those published rates against what's showing up on your bills. I keep a spreadsheet tracking the monthly factors for all my NJ clients - catches discrepancies right away.
One more tip - PSE&G sometimes lags a month on applying new fuel factors, especially for smaller commercial accounts. So February bills might still show January's rate if the billing cycle closed before the new factor was published. It's not technically wrong but worth tracking if you're doing variance analysis. The big swings you're seeing are probably legitimate given the gas price volatility we had last year.