Electricity
A 120-room hotel.
One March bill.
$23,017.35
216,000 kWh. Most of it is right. Some of it may not need paying.
Request a reviewInto the meter room
An example bill. Example Power & Light is a made-up utility; its rates are invented.
What a kilowatt-hour costs a business
+20%
US commercial power: 10.59¢ a kWh in 2020, 12.75¢ in 2024. It had barely moved in the six years before 2020.
15:45 · kW 450
Illustrative July day (the 450 kW peak). The meter keeps the highest fifteen minutes.
The maximum-demand register
For fifteen minutes, everything ran at once: laundry, kitchen, air, lifts.
The black needle forgot. The red one didn't.
450 kW
A year on the recorder
Billed on 450 kW. The meter read 354.
Billed450 kW
Metered in March354 kW
96 kW billed, not drawn in March$1,392.00 a month
Illustrative year; March is the example bill's. A ratchet like this is confirmed from twelve months of bills before we count it.
The filed tariff
The sheet that looks dearer is cheaper for a hotel that never switches off.
$979.50 a month
Same power, on schedule GS-3: a higher demand rate, a lower energy rate. A building running around the clock uses far more energy than demand.
EXAMPLE POWER & LIGHT · RATE SCHEDULE GS-3
General Service · Sheet No. 3 · an example tariff; its rates are made up
| Customer charge | $180.00 |
|---|---|
| Energy, per kWh | 5.8¢ |
| Demand, per kW | $18.75 |
| This hotel, at 450 kW | $21,145.50 |
EXAMPLE POWER & LIGHT · RATE SCHEDULE GS-2
General Service · Sheet No. 2 · an example tariff; its rates are made up
| Customer charge | $48.00 |
|---|---|
| Energy, per kWh | 7.2¢ |
| Demand, per kW | $14.50 |
| This hotel, at 450 kW | $22,125.00 |
DIRECTORY · MARCH BILL
Demand ratchet · to confirm$1,392.00
Schedule GS-3$979.50
Main$2,371.50
The sum
$2,371.50 a month, could save
$979.50 on GS-3 even if the old peak stays billed, and $1,392.00 more once billed demand resets. That part depends on the ratchet, which we confirm from twelve months of bills before counting it.
Your meter keeps a record.
So should someone on your side.
We read the figures, then delete the bill. Nothing up front on a one-off review; the fee is 35% of 12 months of the saving, once. See Pricing.
Or first, price one month on your own rate schedule, as your utility filed it.