Utility Case Studies

Case Study One

A successful big box retailer operating more than 1,100 stores in 47 states was being billed for water at the wrong rate? Advantage IQ found the errors.

This company benefited from Advantage IQ’s deep experience with big box retailers, their first week on the service. While processing utility bills, our Client Service Team noticed something strange about the water bill from a store in Texas. While water usage there had been minimal (just 38,300 gallons that month), the bill was over $1,000. After making a few quick inquiries, it was discovered that the store had been overpaying for water since September of 1999. Advantage IQ secured a credit refund of nearly $18,000 and made sure future billing was set up on the proper rate schedule.

Case Study Two

Oil pipeline systems keep the energy coming. We help them keep it coming cheaper.

For two years, an oil pipeline site was billed a minimum of $2-3,000 per month for electricity. When they became an Advantage IQ client, our Client Service Team discovered the site had used between Zero KWh and 80 KWh during that entire period.

Advantage IQ quickly contacted the serving utility and provided transformer information, a load forecast for the site and answers to a few technical questions. The result: a bill that had been around $3,000 per month, dropped to less than $300 in the high season, and $200 in the off-season. The total estimated savings were approximately $30,000.

While looking at another pipeline site, Advantage IQ found an estimated savings of nearly $60,000. That bill went from $3,000 to $40 per month. Another site anticipates a 17-month savings of nearly $80,000.

A fifth site bills a minimum of 1,000 KW per month (a sum of $9040). It consumes around 8,000 Kwh per month. (The meter has a multiplier of 8,000.) Pending an anticipated rate change FIQ estimates a savings of approximately $6,500 per month x 17 months - more than $100,000.

Case Study Three

A big box retailer with more than 1,300 stores in 43 states had an electric meter at one site calibrated incorrectly. We found it.

When the local utility installed a new meter at an Indiana store, it was to be set at a multiplier of 100. When the meter techs entered the information into their system however, they inadvertently set 200 as the multiplier. The Advantage IQ Client Service Team noticed that usage seemed unusually high, and called to inquire. Sure enough, the utility verified the read stated that the bill would stand as it was.

Next, the Advantage IQ Client Service Team reviewed the site's square footage and Kilowatt Hours vs. Demand report and suggested a meter technician make an on-site inspection. A week later, the utility called and confirmed the multiplier was incorrect.

The client received a refund of nearly $50,000.

Case Study Four

A large home improvement retailer's store in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio was on the wrong rate schedule. Advantage IQ corrected the mistake and saved them over $140,000.

It seems the Cuyahoga Falls site was never moved off the construction rate schedule after it opened for business. The Advantage IQ Client Service Team was able to make a case for a refund. Total refund amount was over $140,000 with an estimated annual savings of over $50,000 going forward.

In March 2004 another one of the company's sites received a gas bill for nearly $8,000—more than eight times the previous bill. Advantage IQ representatives contacted the serving utility, and requested they send a technician out to inspect. The meter could not be located.

Working with the company's facility manager, Advantage IQ ordered another inspection, suspecting the gas line might be tapped or was leaking. Sure enough, the contractor found several pinhole leaks in the gas line, and Advantage IQ contacted the utility to shut the gas off until repairs could be made. Had it gone unnoticed it could have cost the company thousands of dollars. Most importantly, finding and fixing the gas leak before it became a problem may have saved lives.