Overview
For companies with multiple retail sites, the “footprint” of any one location may fluctuate over the years as leased space expands and/or contracts. As this occurs, space is turned back to the landlord, transferred to another tenant or the meters onsite may also have been reconfigured to accommodate any of the above scenarios. As these changes transpire, attention should be paid to what was done by the landlord or an adjacent tenant to ensure that you are being billed properly by the utility.
Issue
An HVAC technician was recently onsite at an operational location that downsized over a year ago. During his inspection, he identified that there were multiple meters at this location and thought that our client may not be responsible for all these meters, as some meters were servicing equipment currently not used by our client.
Action Taken
- Immediately after this possible issue was brought to our attention, we reviewed the billing for the store and determined that there were currently three meters being billed to our client.
- A project manager visited the site and confirmed that one meter no longer serviced the operational space of our client.
- We contacted the utility provider and had the meter transferred from our client to the landlord.
- We provided our client with all the bills for the period in which the meter did not service the operational space so that an invoice for chargeback to the landlord could be completed.
Results of Investigation
As a result of this investigation, further unnecessary charges were avoided and the chargeback amount was calculated at approximately $7,500.00
Conclusion
As seen in this situation, it is important to involve Powerhouse as early as possible in the downsizing of any location. This allows our client to determine whether any equipment or space being turned back to the landlord is currently metered and billed to them. If this is the case, the meters can then be transferred to the landlord and a proper verification can be done for the following months to confirm all the modifications. Have any of your locations recently “downsized” or are you planning any “downsizing” in the near future. Contact us and let Powerhouse help you maintain peace of mind through the process.