utility bill auditing
DESCRIPTION
In this presentation, Steve Heinz presents 20 key tests for auditing utility bills. Steve Heinz is a Professional Engineer and Certified Energy Manager, and is the Founder and CEO of EnergyCAP, Inc. Learn more at www.EnergyCAP.comTRANSCRIPT
Utility Bill Auditing
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Steve Heinz, PE, CEMFounder & CEO
EnergyCAP, Inc.
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Presented by EnergyCAP, Inc.EnergyCAP is used by organizations that receive many utility bills for bill processing, energy reporting and analytics
Industry leader for 30+ years; first release in 1982. (The predecessor software was FASER Energy Accounting).
Web-based and on-premise versions.
Financially secure. No debt. No VC funds.
EnergyCAP software is all we do—we don’t sell hardware, retrofits, consulting, bill payment outsourcing, procurement.
Five years running
1,500 organizations use EnergyCAP.City Government (San Francisco, Baltimore, Sacramento, Virginia
Beach, Tampa, Denver, Jacksonville, Oklahoma City, Cleveland)
County Government (Orange, Riverside, Santa Barbara CA; Loudoun, Fairfax, Chesterfield VA; Miami Dade, Charlotte FL)
Federal (USMC, Smithsonian, U.S. Dept of Energy Labs)
Commercial (Ryder, Equity Residential, Forest City, BJs Wholesale Clubs, Burlington Coat Factory, Northrop Grumman)
Education (800+ school districts, SUNY system, Univ of CA system, UCF, Univ of Kansas)
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Utility Bill AuditingThis session assumes a working knowledge of utility bills.
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
20 valuable utility bill audit tests that can help you spot problems and save you money.
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Date AuditsUsually due to data entry errors, although sometimes due to billing errors, date errors create problems with analytics (average daily usage, average daily cost).
1. Billing period length, abnormally long or abnormally short
2. Start/End Dates (meter read dates) overlap with another bill
3. Gap between last End Date and current Start Date
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Date AuditsUsually due to data entry errors, although sometimes due to billing errors, date errors create problems with analytics (average daily usage, average daily cost).
4. Due Date or Statement Date is too long after End Date
5. End Date is later than today
6. Due Date or Statement Date is before End Date
Date Audit Results
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Usage AuditsDue to faulty meter, faulty meter read, billing error or data entry error
7. Use per day varies from average of last two months*
8. Use per day varies from same month last year
9. Use per day is exactly the same as the prior month (or two). Is it estimated?
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Usage AuditsDue to faulty meter, faulty meter read, billing error or data entry error
10.Cost but no usage. Is meter inactive?
11. Highest use/day in the last 12 months. Reasonable?
Usage Audit Results
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Usage Audit Results
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Cost AuditsDue to faulty meter, faulty meter read, billing error or data entry error
12.Cost per day or Unit Cost varies from average of last two months*
13.Cost per day or Unit Cost varies from same monthlast year
14.Highest Cost per day or Unit Cost in the last 12 months. Reasonable?
Cost Audit Results
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Cost Audit Results
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Demand AuditsDue to faulty meter, faulty meter read, billing error or data entry error
15.Abnormal load factor (over 100%). Use too high, demand too low, or days too low.
16.Abnormal load factor (.1% to 15%). Use too low, demand too high, or days too high.
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Demand AuditsDue to faulty meter, faulty meter read, billing error or data entry error
17.Billed demand varies from same month last year
18.Highest billed demand in last 12 months. Reasonable?
19. Exact same Billed Demand multiple months in a row. Demand ratchet in effect?
Demand Audit Results
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Demand Audit Results
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Max Theoretical Usage = 28 days x 24 hrs/day x 265 kW = 178,080 kWh
How could billed usage be 1,517,040 kWh?
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Other Audits20.Possible duplicate bill indicated by Pay Amount and
start or end or due or statement date is equal to an existing bill.
21.Rate audits (bill recalculation)
Audit Results
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Rate AuditsThis is most important!
Understand what rates your accounts are on and what alternative rates are available to you.
You can find the rates posted on the vendor website or at the U.S. Dept of Energy’s OpenEnergy Info.
Rate Audit Results
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Rate Audit Results
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Filters Needed
Filters Prevent False Alarms
Resources to Learn More
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Resources to Learn More
Energy UniversityA free service of Schneider Electric. Click on the link at www.FreeEnergyManagerTools.com. Both of these video courses, about 30 minutes each, are excellent.
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Resources to Learn More
Open Energy InfoAlmost 30,000 electric rate schedules. A free service of the U.S. Dept of Energy. Click on the link at www.FreeEnergyManagerTools.com.
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Resources to Learn More
EnergyCAP Help: docs.EnergyCAP.com
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. ▪ @energycap ▪ #energyleader ▪ www.EnergyCAP.com
Thank you for attending this presentation!