Commercial energy bill audit: 17 checks and an evidence-based dispute file

A check is not proof that an invoice is wrong

A bill audit reconciles an invoice with the records that govern it. It does not assume that a complex charge is an error, that a supplier acted improperly or that every discrepancy creates a refund. This guide's 17 checks are an investigation list, not a ranking of error frequency. No client refunds, typical recovery amount or universal lookback period is asserted.

Start with the actual meter boundary and billing period. Obtain the original invoice, a full operating cycle of prior bills where available, the effective tariff, supplier price schedule, meter data and relevant amendments. Preserve revised invoices and credits so a later correction is not mistaken for a duplicate charge.

The 17 checks

Check	Compare against	Avoid this conclusion without evidence
1. Customer and address	Service record and legal entity	Every account with a similar name belongs in this audit
2. Meter identifier	Utility meter/account record	A changed identifier necessarily means a new physical meter
3. Billing dates	Prior close, current open and read dates	Two invoices printed in one month duplicate the same service
4. Read status	Actual, estimated and corrected data	An estimated bill is automatically an overcharge
5. Meter multiplier	Applicable metering configuration	The display value is already the billed quantity
6. Units	kWh, kW, therms, Ccf, Mcf or MMBtu	Similar-looking numbers can be compared without conversion
7. Rate class	Tariff eligibility and operating records	A larger class is always cheaper or available
8. Energy rate	Executed price schedule and term	The entire bill is fixed because the energy rate is fixed
9. Demand	Interval, window, floor and ratchet	A lower dashboard maximum must lower billed demand
10. Capacity allocation	Supplier determinant and applicable rules	Monthly maximum demand equals every capacity tag
11. Pass-throughs	Named component and allocation	Any unfamiliar adjustment violates the agreement
12. Fixed and minimum charges	Tariff and supplier schedule	Zero usage removes every charge
13. Gas heat-content factor	Period-specific bill record	One generic therm/volume conversion fits every bill
14. Tax and exemption	Applicable law and valid certificates	A nonprofit label alone establishes an exemption
15. Credits and payments	Ledger, credit memo and bank record	A credit noted in correspondence was already applied
16. Supplier transition	Enrollment dates and final bills	Utility and supplier invoices always duplicate one another
17. Renewable attributes	Contract, delivery and retirement evidence	Paying a premium alone proves an environmental claim

Some checks will be inapplicable to a particular service. Mark those explicitly. Do not create a synthetic charge or missing credit just to fill every row.

Worked example: isolate a rate difference without claiming a refund

Illustrative invoice: the contract energy rate is $0.091/kWh and the invoice uses $0.094/kWh for 75,000 kWh. If the signed rate applies to the entire billed period and no authorized adjustment explains the difference, the questioned amount is 75,000 × ($0.094 − $0.091) = $225.

That is an amount to investigate, not an established refund. Confirm effective dates, actual metered quantity, any price amendment and whether the invoiced line bundles a permitted component. If a documented adjustment is $0.002/kWh, only the remaining $0.001/kWh difference—$75—remains unexplained under those assumptions. Preserve the supplier's written explanation before assigning a final status.

Write a dispute file another person can reproduce

Use one issue per row: account, invoice, line item, disputed quantity, governing clause or tariff section, expected calculation, billed calculation, difference and supporting document. Attach the relevant pages rather than an unsupported assertion that a rate is too high. Keep confidential account and payment details in controlled records.

Ask the billing party to identify the calculation and governing authority. Record the case number, response date, correction or denial and next escalation step. Follow the actual contract and utility complaint rules for deadlines, payment obligations and escalation. Do not stop paying an entire bill solely on the basis of this checklist; determine the applicable procedure for disputed and undisputed amounts.

Separate recovered cash from recurring performance

A one-time correction is not an annual operating saving. A rate correction may affect future bills only for the remaining applicable term. A consumption reduction needs its own baseline and operating explanation. Avoid adding a refund, a corrected annual run rate and the same historical overcharge into one larger result.

Use the electric audit checklist or gas audit checklist for commodity-specific records. The offer tool compares modeled supply cost; it does not determine whether an invoice violates its tariff.

Sources and limits

Columbia Gas's bill guide illustrates actual bill components and complaint routing for its service. Nicor rates and riders demonstrates why the effective service schedule is needed. The 17-check method and numerical example are independently constructed, with no asserted frequency, refund entitlement or universal legal deadline.