Hey everyone — Zach H from Mobile, AL. Some of you might remember me. I was pretty active from 2011-2022 but had to step away due to some health issues. Good news is I'm back and ready to jump in. What did I miss? Smart meters, solar, rate restructurings — a lot seems to have changed.
Returning after 3 year break
Zach! Great to see you back. Hope you're doing well. The biggest change is probably AMI smart meters — most major utilities have completed their rollouts. Changes the game for demand charge analysis with 15-minute interval data. — Randy D
Welcome back! The other big change is the solar/net metering explosion. A lot of commercial clients now have rooftop solar and the billing gets incredibly complex. — Derek O
Randy's right about the smart meters — and several states have had major rate cases recently. Alabama Power went through one in 2023 that restructured their demand charges. If you're in AP territory, pull the new tariff book. — Terry M
Thanks guys. Smart meters and solar, huh? Are there good threads on the forum covering the AMI transition from an auditing perspective?
Check out Topic 35 — Old Mechanical Meters vs AMI. Also Topic 22 on interval data analysis. Both have several good threads. — Mike D
Welcome back, Zach! Another change — LED lighting retrofits have been massive. A lot of commercial buildings upgraded and their load profiles changed significantly. That creates audit opportunities because the optimal rate schedule might be different now. — Walt D
I hadn't thought about LED retrofits changing the demand profile enough to warrant a rate review. That's the kind of thing I would have missed coming back cold.
It's bigger than you'd think. I had a grocery store chain that retrofitted all stores with LEDs and dropped peak demand by about 15%. Moved three locations below the demand threshold for their rate class. Saved about $4,200 per store per year. — Yuri P
$4,200 per store across a chain adds up fast. LED retrofits changing rate class eligibility — that's brilliant. This is why I love this forum.
Welcome back, Zach. I joined while you were away — Isaac M from Montgomery, AL. Looking forward to learning from your Gulf Coast experience. Alabama Power territory is my area too.
Thanks Isaac! Always good to have more Alabama auditors. The Gulf Coast market is strong — port operations, military bases, tourism facilities. Plenty of work for both of us.
Don't forget the petrochemical facilities along the Gulf. Those are massive energy consumers and the billing is incredibly complex. Six-figure annual overcharges on some of those accounts. — Terry M
Great to have you back and already mentoring newer members, Zach. Welcome home. — Randy D