Energy Consumption is one of the largest recurring expenses we incur. Regardless of at an individual, corporate, or governmental level.

With such consumption comes the utility bills issued by the service provider. Regardless if such services are in a de-regulated or controlled market area, the issuing utility provider bills for what it believes to have been delivered and consumed at the billing location.

Aside from this, such bills are generally accepted “as is”. What if the utility company issuing the bill applied the wrong rate charge or entered some other aspect incorrectly when the account was established? As it stands based only on the invoice, there is no way of telling.

This is where a third-party auditor, that works on a no cost, contingent basis, comes into play. When the appropriate engagement forms are completed and the auditor has been given the authority to contact the billing utility company and gains access to the records, will it be determined that the past charges are true and correct.

Such a process will result in one of two possible results, the charges are true and correct, or that there have been errors that resulted in overcharges. In the event that overcharges have been discovered, a report will be presented to the client for review.

Overcharges that been assessed and collected can be recovered by the auditing team and this is where the contingent basis applies. The customary fee is 50% of what is recovered, plus 50% of the savings for a period, on a going forward basis, based on the difference between what will continue to be charged, versus what is assessed after the corrections to the billing have been applied. If the client agrees to the recovery, then steps are taken to reclaim the past overcharges assessed under the Statute of Limitations. In addition, ongoing monitoring of the account is taken place so as to ensure no internal changes have been made that create an overcharge situation.

This auditing service is primarily for businesses, non-profit organizations, and government agencies, at all levels.

A parallel service that may help in the management of this expense is the introduction of alternate suppliers of electricity, natural gas, or any other recurring service. Such introductions are based on the regulatory conditions of the delivery point and accessing competitors that service the area. When the audit report is presented, alternate suppliers (if any) are mentioned, giving the client options on how to manage this cost.

To request more information on this, send an email requesting details on the utility bill auditing program and include your name, address, phone number, and if there is more than one location involved, add these addresses. Send this request to info@mercantileadvisorsllc.com.