Just had to eat crow on a big audit for a manufacturing client in Birmingham. Spent weeks analyzing their Alabama Power bills under Schedule RTP-1 (Real Time Pricing). Found what I thought was $47,000 in overcharges over 18 months. Turns out I completely missed the Load Response Credit provision in Section 4.2 of the tariff. Client was getting proper credits for demand response participation during peak events. My 'error' was actually Alabama Power billing correctly. Had to refund my fee and apologize profusely. Anyone else have a tariff reading fail this bad?
Embarrassing miss on Alabama Power Schedule RTP-1
Ouch Zach, that hurts to read. I had something similar with Ohio Edison's Economic Development Rate back in 2010. Missed a grandfather clause that saved my client about $30K annually. The key lesson I learned was to always read the ENTIRE tariff document, including all the fine print sections and historical amendments. Now I create a checklist for every tariff I work with.
We've all been there. Duke Energy's tariffs here in Charlotte are notorious for having these buried provisions. I always tell new auditors - if you think you found a huge error, triple-check it before celebrating. The bigger the apparent error, the more likely you missed something. What saved me was developing relationships with utility rate analysts who can clarify confusing language.
Had a similar issue with CPS Energy here in San Antonio on their Large Power Service tariff. Thought I found billing errors on time-of-use charges but missed the seasonal adjustment factors. Cost me $8,000 in credibility with a major client. Now I use highlighters and make notes on every single clause. Better to look obsessive than miss something critical.
The tariff reading mistakes hurt, but they're how we learn. TVA's Schedule MSB caught me off guard early in my career - didn't realize the minimum bill calculation had changed in an amendment from 2009. Lost about 20 hours of work. Pro tip: always check the tariff effective dates and revision history before starting any audit.
Thanks everyone for sharing. Makes me feel less stupid about this whole thing. Derek's point about the bigger the error, the more suspicious you should be - that's gold. I'm definitely implementing a peer review process now for any findings over $25,000.
Late to this thread but wanted to add - National Grid here in Rhode Island has some tricky language around power factor penalties. I once spent a week calculating what I thought were incorrect penalties, only to discover they had a special exemption for certain industrial processes. Always check for industry-specific exemptions!
Laura brings up a great point about industry exemptions. Those are easy to miss if you're not familiar with the specific business type. I keep a database now of all the special provisions I've encountered by industry and utility. Saves me from making the same mistake twice.