Anyone else seeing new inspection fees from Xcel Energy on master-metered apartment properties here in Colorado? Got a bill last month with a $485 "Master Meter Inspection Fee" that I've never seen before. Property management has no idea what it's for. The complex has 72 units and has been on the same rate schedule for 8 years with no changes. Trying to figure out if this is legitimate or some kind of billing error.
Xcel Energy Colorado - new master meter inspection fees?
Lori, Randy here from Memphis. Haven't seen anything like that from Xcel, but some utilities have been adding new fees lately to recover infrastructure costs. Check Xcel's tariff sheets - any new fees should be listed there with effective dates. If it's not in the tariff, it's probably not a legitimate charge.
Randy, I pulled the latest tariff sheets from the Colorado PUC website but don't see any master meter inspection fees listed. The charge appeared on the September bill dated 9/15/2024. I'm wondering if this is related to the new AMI meter installations Xcel has been doing, but the property still has the old mechanical meters.
Lori, Ruben here from Albuquerque. I work with some properties in Colorado Springs and haven't seen this fee yet. Might be specific to certain service territories or meter configurations. Have you called Xcel's commercial billing department to ask what triggered the inspection? They should be able to provide documentation.
Called Xcel yesterday and spoke with commercial billing. The rep said it was for "compliance verification of master meter installations" but couldn't provide any specifics about what was inspected or when. She also couldn't point to the tariff authority for the fee. I'm filing a formal dispute - this smells like an unauthorized charge.
Good call on the dispute Lori. If they can't document what was inspected or show tariff authority for the fee, they'll likely reverse it. Keep us posted on how it turns out - if this is a new fee they're testing, other Colorado properties might start seeing it too.