Dealing with a 48-unit apartment complex in Harrisburg on PPL's Schedule R-H rate. The building owner is convinced they should be on a commercial rate schedule because of the master meter setup, but PPL says residential applies because it's apartments. Monthly bills are running $2,800-$3,200 depending on season. Anyone familiar with PPL's criteria for commercial vs residential classification on master-metered apartments? The rate difference could be significant.
PPL master meter rate schedule confusion
Sylvia, I've run into similar issues with Ameren Missouri. Generally, the utility looks at the end use, not the metering configuration. Apartments are almost always classified as residential regardless of master metering. However, if there's significant common area usage - elevator, pool, laundry facilities - you might be able to get a portion classified as commercial. Have you done a detailed breakdown of the complex's electrical loads?
In Alabama Power territory, we've seen mixed results on this. The key is usually the demand pattern. If you've got significant peak demand from common areas, commercial rates might actually be higher due to demand charges. I'd recommend getting rate analyses for both schedules before pushing PPL for a reclassification. Sometimes residential rates are better even for master-metered properties.
Here in Cincinnati with Duke Energy, master-metered apartments almost always stay on residential schedules. The demand charges on commercial rates would kill most apartment owners. Sylvia, what's the peak demand running on that complex? If it's under 10kW average, you're probably better off staying residential. PPL's commercial rates have some nasty demand ratchets that could backfire.