Heads up everyone - Georgia Power just tried to slip an unauthorized "System Reliability Charge" onto one of my commercial clients' bills. $847 per month for a 1.2 MW demand account. When I called to question it, they claimed it was approved by the PSC but couldn't provide the docket number. Turns out this charge was never approved and they've been billing it for six months. Anyone else seeing bogus riders like this? We're demanding full refunds plus interest but I'm wondering how widespread this is.
Georgia Power trying to sneak unauthorized rider past us
Greg, I'm also in Atlanta and haven't seen that specific rider but Georgia Power has been pushing the envelope lately with new charges. They tried to hit one of my clients with a "Grid Modernization Fee" that was supposedly part of their smart meter deployment. Problem was the client had opted out of smart meters. Took three months to get it removed. Definitely document everything and file a complaint with the PSC.
This is exactly why we need to scrutinize every line item on these bills. Down here in Charlotte, Duke Energy tried something similar with an "Infrastructure Investment Recovery" charge that wasn't in their approved rate schedule. Utilities are getting creative about cost recovery and hoping customers won't notice. Good catch Greg.
We had OG&E try to sneak in an unauthorized "Reliability Enhancement Surcharge" here in Oklahoma City. Same playbook - they claimed PSC approval but couldn't produce documentation. Ended up being a $12,000 refund for my client. The key is demanding the specific PSC order number and effective date. If they can't produce it immediately, it's probably bogus.
Susan's right about demanding documentation. Entergy tried something similar here in Arkansas with a "Storm Recovery Adjustment" that wasn't properly authorized. The Arkansas PSC was very interested when I filed a complaint. Utilities seem to think they can just invent new charges and see who complains. We need to keep pushing back hard on this stuff.
I've been tracking unauthorized charges for a presentation I'm doing and this is becoming a real problem. Eversource here in Connecticut has been adding "Infrastructure Modernization" fees that aren't in their approved tariffs. The pattern seems to be they implement the charge, hope nobody notices, and if challenged they claim it was an "administrative error." Bull. It's systematic.
Update on my Georgia Power situation - they finally admitted the charge was unauthorized and agreed to full refunds going back to when it started. Total recovery was $5,082 for my client. But here's the kicker - they said it was being billed to "hundreds" of other accounts too. This was clearly intentional, not an error.
Greg, did you report this to the PSC? If they're billing hundreds of customers an unauthorized charge, that's a serious violation. Up here in Ohio, AEP got hit with a $2.5 million fine for similar shenanigans. The PSC takes unauthorized billing very seriously, especially when it's systematic like this.
Jim, absolutely filed with the Georgia PSC. They've opened a formal investigation and are requiring Georgia Power to identify all affected accounts and provide automatic refunds. This could end up being a multi-million dollar recovery across all their customers. Sometimes one complaint can snowball into something much bigger.
This thread is gold. I'm printing it out for my files. TVA has been clean on unauthorized charges but I'm going to start scrutinizing every rider more carefully. The fact that multiple utilities are trying this suggests it might be coordinated through some industry group. We need to stay vigilant.
Ed's right about staying vigilant. Entergy New Orleans just started a new "Grid Security Assessment" on bills here. I'm investigating whether it's properly authorized. The timing right after this discussion seems suspicious. Greg, thanks for sharing your experience - it's helping all of us catch these issues faster.
Great work everyone on staying on top of unauthorized charges. This is exactly the kind of information sharing that makes our profession stronger. I'm seeing similar issues with MLGW here in Memphis - they've been adding "system improvement" fees without proper approval. The key is documentation and persistence. Keep fighting the good fight.