Finally closed a case that took 18 months to resolve with Georgia Power. Manufacturing client in Marietta was getting billed under Schedule GS-3 but should have been on Schedule GSA due to load factor issues. The utility had them miscategorized since 2009 and we recovered $87,340 in overcharges plus interest. Anyone else seeing similar tariff classification errors in the Southeast? The key was proving their monthly load factor consistently exceeded 60% which triggered the GSA eligibility.
Just recovered $87K from Georgia Power - anyone else hit Schedule GS-3 errors?
Nice work Rachel! Down here in Dallas we see TXU making similar mistakes with their SGS schedules. Just wrapped up a $43K recovery where they had a client on SGS-1 instead of SGS-2. The load threshold documentation requirements are getting stricter but the payoffs are worth it. Did Georgia Power fight you on the historical billing analysis?
Excellent recovery! We had something similar with Duquesne Light last year. Client was on Rate GS when they qualified for Rate GP due to power factor improvements they made in 2010. Utility never updated their records. $31K recovery over 14 months of billing errors. The challenge was getting Duquesne to accept our power factor data since their meters weren't recording it properly.
Great job on that one Rachel. APS here in Phoenix has been pretty good about rate schedule reviews lately, but I did catch them billing a hospital client under Schedule E-32 instead of E-65 which saved $22K annually going forward. The medical facilities often have unique load patterns that don't fit standard commercial schedules. What documentation did you use to prove the load factor calculations?
Marcus and Walt - yes, Georgia Power initially pushed back hard on the historical analysis. They wanted to limit the refund to 12 months but we had documentation proving the error went back 4 years. Sarah, for the load factor proof we used 15-minute interval data from their existing meters plus production records showing consistent high-demand operations. The key was correlating the manufacturing schedule with the electrical demand patterns.
This is exactly why I always recommend annual rate schedule reviews for manufacturing clients. NV Energy here in Vegas missed a similar classification on a data center that should have been on Schedule LGS instead of MGS. Only $19K recovery but it was a simple fix once we identified it. The data center's load curve was textbook LGS territory but somehow they got stuck on the wrong rate for 2 years.
Kim makes a great point about annual reviews. JEA here in Jacksonville has been more proactive lately about rate optimization, but I still find errors. Just last month caught a cold storage facility that qualified for interruptible service credits they weren't getting. $8K annual savings going forward. These manufacturing and industrial clients often have operational changes that affect their optimal rate schedule.
Great thread everyone. Here in Atlanta I work with several Georgia Power accounts and Rachel's experience matches what I've seen. The GS-3 to GSA transition is a common issue, especially for clients who've improved their operations efficiency over time. The utility systems don't automatically flag these opportunities so it's up to us to catch them. That $87K recovery is outstanding work!