Just closed a case that might be my biggest recovery ever. Manufacturing plant in Savannah was billed on Schedule PL-1 instead of PL-3 for 48 months. Georgia Power fought us tooth and nail but we finally got $1.2 million back plus interest. The key was proving they had load research data showing the customer qualified for the lower rate but failed to make the switch. Anyone else seeing Georgia Power get more aggressive about limiting refunds?
Georgia Power 4-year recovery - biggest case ever?
Holy cow Ray, $1.2 million is huge! PPL here in Pennsylvania has gotten much stricter about their 24-month rule. I'm fighting them on a similar manufacturing case right now. What was the load factor that qualified them for PL-3? We're dealing with a customer at 78% load factor that should clearly be on a different schedule.
Load factor was 82% with peak demand around 3.2 MW. The smoking gun was internal Georgia Power emails showing their account manager knew about the load characteristics 6 months after service started but never initiated a rate review. Their own procedures require annual rate optimization reviews for customers over 1 MW.
Entergy down here in Louisiana has similar internal procedures but they never follow them. I've got a customer who's been on the wrong rate for 3 years and Entergy claims they had no way of knowing. Meanwhile their load research department has detailed analysis going back 5 years. These utilities know exactly what they're doing.
Duke Energy here in Cincinnati just settled a case for $340K going back 38 months. The trend seems to be utilities fighting harder on the front end but settling once you get into discovery. They don't want their internal procedures exposed in hearings. Ray, did you have to go through full discovery or did they cave early?
We went through about 6 months of discovery before they offered to settle. The internal emails were devastating - showed a pattern of ignoring rate optimization opportunities for large customers. I think they settled to avoid setting a precedent. Their lawyers kept talking about 'unique circumstances' to try to limit future cases.
Outstanding work Ray. These million-dollar recoveries send a message that utilities can't just ignore their own procedures. I'm seeing more cases where internal utility communications are the key evidence. Always push for discovery on account management practices and rate review procedures. The money is usually there if you dig deep enough.
National Grid up in Rhode Island tried to limit me to 18 months on a similar case last year. I filed with the PUC and they ordered a full 4-year recovery under state contract law. These utilities keep testing the limits but the commissions are getting tired of their games. Document everything and don't accept their artificial limitations.
MLGW here in Memphis has been pretty reasonable lately - they've been going back 36 months voluntarily on clear errors. But the private utilities are definitely getting more aggressive. Ray's case shows what's possible when you don't back down. Sometimes you have to fight for every dollar.
Update on my PPL case - they finally agreed to 42 months after I threatened to file a PUC complaint. Got $89,500 back for the customer. These utilities will push as hard as they can until you show you're serious about fighting. Thanks for the encouragement everyone.
Great outcome Donna. The lesson here is persistence pays off. These utilities have teams of lawyers trying to minimize refunds, but most regulators still side with customers when the facts are clear. Keep pushing back on artificial limitations and document every utility failure to follow their own procedures.