| Dear Property Owner/Manager,Most property owners understand the cost saving benefits of water submetering. Less well understood, but equally important, are the savings that can be realized if your submetered properties are billed using property-specific billing rates.
Many billing services force the charges billed to residents to equal the master bill. Typically, the master bill is proportionally distributed to each resident based on the resident’s percent of total submetered usage. This approach is simple, easy to administer and requires no understanding of the underlying tariff. Is this right approach for your property? We don’t think so.
First, since the total amount billed to residents exactly equals the amount shown on the master utility bill, there is no way to independently verify that the utility is using the correct billing rate. Utilities often make mistakes in setting up property billing rates. And these mistakes can result in ongoing, undetected overcharges. Click here to read about one owner’s experience.
Second, underground and internal water leaks remain undetected when resident charges are forced to equal the master charges. Since the master bill includes the costs associated with water leaks, residents may be charged for water they did not use.
Third, if submeters in any unit are not working, the cost of water usage in those units is passed along to all other residents whose meters are working.
Our approach to rate development is threefold: understand the local tariff; test our understanding of the tariff by replicating the master utility bill; create a property-specific billing rate that conforms to the tariff.
Property-specific billing rates leverage the cost savings potential of submetering, maximize recovery of utility costs and produce resident bills that reflect actual usage.
To learn how Guardian Water & Power can build your bottom line, click here or contact me toll free at 877-291-3141 ext. 124.
Sincerely,
Sean Dicks |
