We just brought on a junior auditor who's having trouble grasping demand analysis fundamentals. She keeps missing obvious billing determinants on Georgia Power commercial accounts. I've tried explaining the 15-minute interval methodology but she's not connecting the dots between recorded demand and billed demand. Any veteran auditors have good training techniques for teaching demand concepts? We've got a $45K recovery riding on her getting this right.
New hire struggles with demand analysis - how to teach?
Rachel, I feel your pain. When I was training new folks at Duquesne Light territory, I found using actual interval data printouts helped immensely. Print out a month of 15-minute intervals and have her physically circle the peak demand periods. Then show the corresponding bill and walk through how the utility calculates billing demand versus recorded demand. The visual connection usually clicks after a few examples.
Great advice from Walt. I also have my trainees create a simple spreadsheet that tracks demand charges month by month. Cleveland Electric has some quirky ratchet provisions and watching how those numbers flow helps new auditors understand the financial impact. For a $45K case, definitely worth the extra training time.
One technique that worked for my junior staff - I had them audit their own office building first. When they see their workplace's demand patterns and can walk around identifying what equipment was running during peak periods, it becomes real. Then we moved to client accounts. FirstEnergy has good online tools that make this easier to demonstrate.
Jim makes a great point about starting with familiar buildings. Down here with CPS Energy, I take new hires to local businesses during site visits so they can see the actual meters and load patterns. Nothing beats hands-on learning. Also recommend having them shadow experienced auditors on 2-3 accounts before going solo.
All good suggestions here. TVA has some excellent training materials on demand fundamentals that I share with new team members. The key is repetition - have her work through 10-15 practice scenarios before tackling real client work. Better to over-train than miss recovery opportunities.
Thanks everyone for the great advice! I'm going to try Walt's interval data approach combined with Jim's hands-on building tour. Will report back on how it goes. Appreciate having this forum to bounce training ideas around.
Rachel, one more thought - LG&E has a great customer education seminar series. Sometimes having trainees attend utility-sponsored rate seminars gives them the utility perspective on billing. Helps them think like the enemy, so to speak! Good luck with the training.