Just finished what should have been a routine audit for a Spokane manufacturing client on Avista's Schedule 25 (Large General Service). Spent three days analyzing 18 months of bills looking for rate calculation errors. Found some minor issues with power factor penalties but nothing major. Client wasn't satisfied and hired an electrical contractor to inspect their service. Contractor immediately spotted obvious signs of meter tampering - loose seals, scratches around the meter housing, and misaligned current transformers. The 'billing errors' I couldn't find were actually the result of systematic meter bypass. I should have recommended a physical inspection from day one instead of just crunching numbers. Now the client faces criminal charges and I look like I missed the forest for the trees. Always consider the physical infrastructure, not just the paperwork.
Missed obvious meter tampering signs - felt like an idiot
Keith, don't beat yourself up too much. Most of us are trained to audit the bills, not investigate meter fraud. MidAmerican Energy here in Iowa had a similar case where I was focused on tariff analysis and missed obvious consumption anomalies that pointed to tampering. The client's usage dropped 40% overnight with no operational changes. Should have been a red flag but I was too focused on rate calculations to see the big picture.
This is exactly why I always start my audits with a consumption analysis before diving into rate schedules. Duke Energy Progress bills here in North Carolina can hide tampering if you're only looking at charges and not usage patterns. I flag any month-to-month usage variance over 20% without explanation. Not saying it's always tampering, but it warrants investigation beyond just bill auditing.
Had a case with Southern California Edison where the client insisted their bills were wrong because usage seemed 'too high.' Turns out someone had been bypassing the meter for two years and recently stopped, causing usage to spike back to normal levels. The client thought the utility was suddenly overbilling them. Now I always ask about any recent electrical work or unusual usage patterns before starting the audit. Physical inspection should be part of our due diligence process.