Bryan Municipal Utilities received more than $1 million in overcharge reimbursements that it will bring back to customers.
The Board of Public Affairs agreed to put that money into the power supply cost adjustment during their meeting Tuesday evening, saving customers from a price surge if it is unseasonably warm or cold throughout the year.
BMU Director of Utilities Nathan Gardner said American Electric Power had a metering issue with American Municipal Power’s Ohio Municipal Energy Group, of which BMU is a member.
Over time, that metering issue resulting in a pretty hefty overpayment that went back to the city.
“There was a credit for transmission overpayment, which was received by AMP in October and credited to members on their October bill,” he said. “We received a credit of $531,760, this is for transmission costs. We received that and then there was a credit for energy overpayment ... That was received by AMP in November and Bryan received a credit of $519,548.07.”
Gardner said he wanted to give the money back through the power supply cost (PSC) adjustment.
This adjustment is a variable added to customer bills every month that evens out the committed power versus actual power use. So, if the city over collects or under collects in a given month, Gardner said that adjustment makes the city whole.
“We never hit zero on this power cost adjustment, it’s always moving,” Gardner said. “It’s a target you can’t hit, so we’re always over or under collecting. It includes our generation, it includes our power invoices. This is a way to balance it out, I believe, and give it back to the customers and equally give it back to all of them.”
By using the money in this way, he expected to give that reimbursement back to customers over the course of a year.
“This may help them during a cold winter or hot summer bills,” he said.
The board agreed giving it back to the customers was the right thing to do and voted 4-0 to apply the funds to the power cost adjustment. Board member Dick Long was absent.
The discussion did lead board member Karen Ford to ask what was being done to prevent the overcharge in the future.
Gardner said AMP found the metering issue and continues to monitor it.
“They do keep a great eye on bills like that and I’m sure they catch all (issues),” he said. “I’m confident and our customers should be confident that those things are looked at multiple times by many different eyes. I don’t see it as something that’s going to continue.”
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