The Wisconsin PSC just approved Alliant Energy's 9.8% rate increase effective next month. Their new Schedule Cg-1 commercial rate has completely different demand charge tiers and I'm worried about billing system errors during implementation. Has anyone worked with Alliant billing issues before? Their customer service has always been pretty good but these rate changes look complex.
Wisconsin PSC approved Alliant rate hike - what's the impact?
Dan, I haven't worked Wisconsin but similar Midwest utilities like ComEd and Ameren have had major billing problems with complex rate restructures. The tiered demand charges are especially problematic because the billing systems have to calculate different rates for different usage levels. I'd recommend auditing your Wisconsin clients within 60 days of the new rates taking effect.
I work Ohio territory with Duke Energy and FirstEnergy, and whenever they implement tiered demand structures there are always calculation errors. The billing software struggles with the tier breakpoints and often applies the wrong rate to the wrong usage levels. Dan, you should definitely plan some audit activity around this rate change - there will be opportunities.