Has anyone noticed differences in how Texas utilities handle statute of limitations issues? I'm in Corpus Christi dealing with AEP Texas and they're pretty reasonable about going back 4 years on billing corrections. But I've heard CPS Energy in San Antonio is much more restrictive. Texas has a 4-year statute for written contracts but some utilities seem to self-impose shorter limits. What's everyone else seeing across Texas?
Texas statute - CPS Energy vs other utilities
Vivian, you're right about CPS being restrictive. They tried to limit me to 2 years on a clear demand billing error last year. I had to threaten action with the city council since CPS is municipally owned. They eventually agreed to 3.5 years but it was a fight. The irony is that as a public utility, they should be more customer-friendly than the investor-owned companies.
I've had mixed results with Oncor here in Dallas. They usually honor the full 4-year statute but their initial response is always to offer less. I think it's just standard negotiating tactics. The key is knowing your state law and being persistent. What type of billing error are you dealing with, Vivian?
Marcus, it's a transformer loss factor error on a large commercial account. AEP has been applying 2.5% losses when the actual engineering study shows 1.8%. Over 4 years that's about $32,000 in overcharges. Pretty straightforward case but I wanted to check what others are seeing statute-wise before I present it.
That should be an easy win with AEP Texas. They've been good about correcting transformer loss errors in my experience. Just make sure you have the engineering documentation solid. Angela, have you dealt with AEP Texas on technical billing corrections?
Sorry, I'm in California so no direct AEP experience. But transformer loss corrections are usually pretty straightforward regardless of utility. If you have good engineering data showing the error, most utilities will make the correction without much argument. The statute timing shouldn't be an issue for a technical error like that.
Thanks everyone. I'll present the full 4-year claim to AEP and see how they respond. Good to know they've been reasonable on similar technical issues. Will report back on how it goes.
Vivian, definitely curious to hear the outcome. Always good to know how different utilities are handling these cases. AEP Texas has generally been professional in my dealings with them.
Quick update - AEP approved the full 4-year correction on my transformer loss case. Total refund of $31,847 plus interest. They were actually quite professional about it once I provided the engineering analysis. Thanks for the encouragement to go for the full statute period!