Industrial rates and tax exemptions, checked per plant
Multi-plant manufacturers carry large bills where rate eligibility and sales tax exemptions decide the outcome.
Who we serve
Multi-plant manufacturers, including food processors, molders and assemblers, with industrial accounts across several utilities and states.
- of multi-site spend found overbilled on a first audit
- 3% to 7%of multi-site spend found overbilled on a first audit
- checks run on every bill line
- 38checks run on every bill line
- median time from claim filing to credit or check
- 47 daysmedian time from claim filing to credit or check
- upfront cost on the Recovery Audit plan
- $0upfront cost on the Recovery Audit plan
Where the money leaks
Industrial schedules have eligibility rules
Plants can qualify for industrial or high-load-factor schedules. Utilities assign a class at hookup and rarely revisit it as production changes.
Sales tax exemptions depend on predominant use
Many states exempt energy used in manufacturing. The exemption often depends on a certificate on file and on how much of the usage is for production.
Production changes shift the load profile
New lines, shift changes and equipment adds change demand and power factor, but billing and rate assignments stay as they were.
Plant-level bills sit outside corporate view
Each plant pays its own utilities. Corporate finance sees totals, not whether a rate class or tax treatment is right.
What we usually find
- Sales tax on exempt usage
Tax charged on production energy where a manufacturing exemption applies, or where the certificate never reached the utility.
- Wrong rate schedule
Plants billed on a general schedule when industrial eligibility is met, or left on a schedule after load changed.
- Demand ratchet errors
Ratchets set by commissioning loads or one-time startups and billed long after the cause ended.
- Meter multiplier errors
Multipliers that do not match instrument transformers after plant expansions and metering upgrades.
How it runs
- 1
Collect bills and tax status
We gather bills for each plant plus the exemption certificates and tax treatment the utility has on file.
- 2
Test industrial eligibility
Plant load and usage patterns are compared against each available schedule's eligibility terms.
- 3
Run the predominant-use study
Where state rules turn on predominant use, we document how much usage supports production and prepare the filing.
- 4
Audit demand, power factor and multipliers
Each plant bill is rebuilt from the tariff and interval data to confirm the demand and metering lines.
- 5
File and track claims
We file refund claims and exemption updates, then follow them through to credit.
Customer story
A food manufacturer recovers $672,000 in tax and rate errors
Read the story- $750,000
- overbilling identified across 24 claims
- $672,000
- refunds and credits received to date
- 6 of 8
- utilities updated exemption records
Questions we get asked
No. Rules and thresholds differ by state and sometimes by the utility's service type. We review the state rule before any filing.
Trace Global is not a law firm. We prepare the usage evidence and file on your behalf; your tax advisor remains responsible for tax positions.
Yes where the tariff and billing rules are published. Dispute routes differ for municipal and cooperative utilities, and we plan claims accordingly.
Supply contracts are separate. We audit delivery charges, taxes and billing accuracy and do not sell energy.
Find out what your utilities owe you.
Connect bills for up to 50 meters. Get the findings report in about three weeks. Pay nothing unless money comes back.
- from bill access to first findings report
- 21 daysfrom bill access to first findings report
- of filed claims accepted by the utility in full or in part
- 94%of filed claims accepted by the utility in full or in part