Utility Auditing and Association Management
Utility Auditing And Association Management: Hidden Canyon Homeowners Association
Working Together To Build A Better Community:
The Hidden Canyon Homeowners Association, located in Westlake Village, California, consists of 648 homes with 3 pools and 3 spas. Sarah Zemer of Ross Morgan & Company, Inc. contacted Pacific Utility Audit in 2016 to find out how a utility audit could benefit their client, Hidden Canyon Homeowners Association and help to reduce their ever-growing utility budget.
They were informed that a utility audit costs nothing unless utility billing errors, overcharges or less expensive utility rates are found. Then the association shared these utility refunds, credit adjustments or utility rate savings with the utility audit company. If the utility audit company finds no utility billing errors or less expensive utility rates, then the utility audit is free! Nine out of ten times, the utility audit company does find utility billing errors or less expensive utility rates, but there are no guarantees.
After auditing all of the common-area utility bills for Hidden Canyon Homeowners Association, including an onsite inspection of the association’s utility meters and equipment, several utility billing errors and opportunities for less expensive utility rates were uncovered!
During the onsite inspection of the association’s property, we discovered that one of the association’s spas was being billed on a more expensive and incorrect single family home electric rate schedule, and the remaining forty common-area electric accounts were being billed on the most expensive electric rates available through Southern California Edison. We also discovered that association’s seven gas accounts were being billed on the most expensive gas rates available through Southern California Gas Company.
Pacific Utility Audit contacted Southern California Edison Company and obtained a refund for the incorrectly billed electric account, and changed the remaining forty electric accounts to less expensive rate schedules available from Southern California Edison Company. We also contacted Southern California Gas Company and placed all seven of the association’s gas accounts on less expensive rate schedules available from Southern California Gas Company.
Utility Cost Savings Summary:
Hidden Canyon Homeowners Association received refunds from Southern California Edison Company totaling $4,239.14 and has reduced their annual electric utility costs by $15,780.00 and their annual gas utility costs by $10,300.00 – a grand total of $26,080.00 in annual utility cost savings that will continue indefinitely into the future! You can bet that the extra $26,080.00 kept in the association’s reserve accounts each year will be put to good use, instead of being put into the utility companies’ bank accounts!
The Takeaway:
Thanks to the foresight, effort, and ingenuity of the association’s general manager and board of directors, a utility audit reduced the association’s annual operating budget by $26,080.00 at no cost whatsoever!
In addition, the association will continue to realize these utility cost savings year after year, and they can utilize Pacific Utility Audit on a no-cost, retainer-type of service, whereby the association’s utility bills are continually audited each month and all utility questions or concerns are investigated and addressed by the utility audit company, saving the general manager’s time and energy for more important matters!
The General Manager’s Opinion: “This is AWESOME!!! Thanks very much.”