Utility Bill Fundamentals

Utility Bill Fundamentals
©2013 EnergyCAP, Inc. @energycap #energyleader www.EnergyCAP.com
Steve Heinz, PE, CEM
Founder & CEO
EnergyCAP, Inc.

Presented by EnergyCAP, Inc.
EnergyCAP is used by organizations that receive many utility bills for
bill processing, energy reporting and analytics
30+-year industry leader; 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)

Utility Bill Fundamentals
This session assumes a working knowledge of utility bills.

6 valuable utility bill tips that can
help you spot problems and save
you money.

1. Estimated bills
Why are bills sometimes estimated?
Convenience of the vendor—save money via fewer reads
Faulty meter (how long before corrected?)
Lack of access to the meter (why?)
Estimates are based on historical data and often are too high
One large EnergyCAP user had 8% of all bills estimated before
they cracked down on the vendor.
When an expensive account is estimated multiple months in
row, investigate!

1. Estimated Bills

2. Units of Measure
Getting the UOM wrong will lead to garbage data for purposes
of analytics and reporting.
More than a single UOM may be shown on a bill.
UOM varies:
Gas: Therm, Dekatherm, MMBTU, CCF, MCF
Elec: KWH, may also show KVAH, KW, KVA, KVAR, KVARH
Water: Gal, Kgal, CCF, HCF, CF, KCF, MCF, Hgal

2. Units of Measure

3. Don’t double count usage
A common bill entry error is to count the same usage
more than once.
Many bills show the same usage several times:
In the meter read section
In the cost calculation section
In the month to month summary section
In the delivery/generation section

3. Don’t double count usage

4. Load Factor
An extremely useful calculated value that can help you spot on
your electric bills:
Data problems
Meter problems
Rate change opportunities
Mechanical/electrical system control problems

Load factor is calculated:
(Actual KWH Usage)/(Max theoretical usage)
Actual KWH usage is what you see on your bill
Max theoretical usage is how much KWH you could have used if you
operated at peak load for the entire 720 hours in the billing period
(assuming 30 days)
Example: Your bill shows 40,000 KWH & 100 KW peak demand.
Your actual usage is 40,000
Your max theoretical usage is: 100 KW x 720 hours=72,000 KWH
Your load factor is: 40,000/72,000=.555=55.5%
Stated another way, for the month as a whole, you operated at an
average load of about 55% of your max load.

4. Load Factor
High Load Factor
Indicates very steady load—most equipment runs 24/7.
Examples: data center, refrigerated warehouse,
supermarket, enclosed parking
You may qualify for an economical High Load Factor Rate!

4. Load Factor

4. Load Factor
High Load Factor (over 85–90%)
What about High Load Factor in some other type of
building? (Office, school, store, restaurant, lodging.)
High Load Factor means you have very steady 24/7 loads,
which is another way of saying No Nighttime or Weekend
Setbacks. Is that right for this building?

4. Load Factor
High Load Factor (over 100%):
That means your actual usage exceeded your max
theoretical usage!
How can that happen?
Data entry problem
Meter problem
Billing problem
Demand ratchet in effect
Check it out!

4. Load Factor
Low Load Factor (under 20%):
Indicates very spiky load—large loads run for short periods
of time
Examples: lighted outdoor recreation/athletics,
standby pumps
Low Load Factor in an office, store, restaurant, educational
facility, lodging, etc is a cause for concern:
Data problem
Meter problem
Billing problem
Oversized/excessive equipment

4. Load Factor
Medium Load Factor (40–60%):
Typical for many building types that have nighttime and
weekend setbacks
Examples: offices, schools, restaurants, etc
Seasonal variations are common as the electrical loads
change throughout the year due to changing HVAC needs.

4. Load Factor
Load Factor Report

4. Load Factor
Load Factor Chart–Outdoor Recreation

4. Load Factor
Load Factor Chart–Data Center

4. Load Factor
Load Factor Chart–Public Library

4. Load Factor
Load Factor Chart–Office Building

5. Power Factor
Unrelated to Load Factor
A characteristic of AC power
Inductive loads cause Power Factor reductions and current
increases, hence low Power Factor penalties. Inductive
loads are loads in which the magnetic property of
electricity is utilized:
Large motors (Pumps, elevators, chillers, fans)
Transformers, light ballasts
Can be corrected with capacitors

6. Understand Your Rates!
This 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

6. Rate Schedule

Resources to Learn More

Energy University
A free service of Schneider Electric. Click on the link at
www.FreeEnergyManagerTools.com. Both of these video
courses, about 30 minutes each, are excellent.

BGE Learning Resources
Explains demand and electric bills. A free service of BGE.
Click on the link at www.FreeEnergyManagerTools.com.

Open Energy Info
Almost 30,000 electric rate schedules. A free service of the
U.S. Dept of Energy. Click on the link at
www.FreeEnergyManagerTools.com.

Thank you for viewing this presentation!

Utility Bill Fundamentals

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