Working on an audit for a large office complex in Seattle and I've identified several months where demand charges seem inconsistent with the billing determinant. Seattle City Light is applying Schedule 49 but the demand readings are jumping around more than I'd expect (ranging from 847 kW to 1,203 kW month-to-month with no obvious pattern). What's the best way to document these irregularities for the client report? Should I be requesting interval data or is there a standard approach for presenting this type of finding?
Best practices for documenting demand charge irregularities
For demand charge irregularities, I always request the interval data first - it's your best evidence. Create a graph showing the monthly billed demand vs the actual peak demand from interval data. If there's a discrepancy, that's your smoking gun. For Seattle City Light, also check if they're using a ratchet clause - sometimes the billed demand is based on a percentage of the highest demand in the previous 11 months. Document everything with screenshots of the actual bills and highlight the specific rate schedule language that supports your position.