Janet from Corpus Christi. Client's property was annexed by the city three years ago. Before annexation they were on a rural electric cooperative rate. After annexation the municipal utility took over service but classified the account under a general commercial rate rather than the industrial rate the property clearly qualified for based on connected load. Three years of overcharges. Is this recoverable or does the account being new to the utility reset the clock on retroactive claims?
Newly annexed municipality changed my client's rate — retroactive fix?
Barry from Salt Lake City. Great question. The annexation creates a new service relationship but the billing error within that new relationship is still subject to the utility's tariff and the state's recovery rules. The account being new does not reset the error — it just means the error starts at the date of service transfer.
Knox from Baltimore. Check whether the cooperative provided any documentation to the municipal utility about the account's historical load and rate classification. If the municipal utility had access to that information and still misclassified the account that strengthens the case.
Knox, the cooperative sent over the service history as part of the transition. So yes, the information was available.
Then you have a strong argument. The municipal utility had the information to classify correctly and did not. That is not an ambiguous situation — it is a failure to apply their own tariff.
Barry again. Also worth checking whether the annexation agreement included any language about continuity of service terms. Sometimes those agreements specify that accounts will be transitioned at equivalent rates, which gives you additional leverage.
Lena from Tacoma. Three years at the wrong rate on an industrial account is likely a significant recovery. Worth investing the time to research the annexation documentation thoroughly before you file.