Just wrapped up a site visit in Atlanta where a manufacturing client got hit with a $47,000 electric bill from Georgia Power - normally runs about $28K. They're on Rate Schedule PLS-3 (Large Power Service). The culprit appears to be a massive demand spike to 1,847 kW when their normal peak is around 1,100 kW. Plant manager swears nothing unusual happened that month. Anyone seen similar situations? Thinking this might be a meter issue or power quality event.
Industrial Customer Hit with $47K Electric Bill - Atlanta
Greg, I had something similar last year with a Georgia Power customer. Turned out their main chiller had a bad starter that was causing huge inrush current spikes. The demand meter was catching these millisecond events and registering them as sustained demand. I'd definitely request interval data and look for any unusual load profiles. Also check if they had any motor starts or equipment malfunctions that day.
Dave makes a good point about equipment issues. Also worth checking if the spike coincided with any utility switching operations or voltage sags that could cause motors to draw excess current. Georgia Power is usually pretty good about providing 15-minute interval data if you request it formally. That should show exactly when the demand spike occurred and help narrow down the cause.