Kent from Sioux Falls. Taking on a client who built a new distribution center three years ago. The building was energized and classified at startup — developer handled everything. Now they own it and are paying a rate that does not match their actual operational load profile. The developer is long gone. Is it harder to dispute a rate class error that was set at new construction versus one that drifted over time?
New construction — rate class set wrong at installation
Vince from Hartford. Not inherently harder. The question is the same: does the current classification match the tariff criteria for the current load? If it does not, the error is disputable regardless of how it originated.
Carl from Pittsburgh. The developer angle does complicate the historical narrative a bit. Utilities sometimes argue that because the customer or their representative provided load estimates at startup the classification was reasonable at the time. Your counter is that the actual operational data now shows a different picture.
The developer estimated the peak load at 180 kW for the utility application. The actual peak over the last two years has been consistently around 320 kW. Different rate class territory.
Kevin from Louisville. That is a significant discrepancy and a strong basis for reclassification. The utility may argue the developer's estimate was the basis for the original classification, but the actual metered data for two full years is hard to dispute.
Vince from Hartford. The retroactive piece is where it gets complicated. The utility might agree to reclassify going forward but resist retroactive correction because they can argue they billed correctly based on the information they had. Push for both but be realistic that the retroactive recovery may be partial.
Understood. I will calculate the full retroactive exposure and then go in expecting to negotiate something in between.