Have you heard of a Forensic Energy Cost Audit?
This service analyses the non-commodity rates applied to your billing at forensic level whilst additionally checking your eligibility for exemptions from costs such as the Climate Change Levy.
Many organisations hesitate to scrutinise their utility bills, often due to a fear of uncovering long-standing errors and facing uncomfortable questions about why these weren’t identified sooner.
Although understandable, these types of scenarios rarely result from inefficiency. The way utility bills are structured – often complex, inconsistent and lacking transparency – makes spotting issues virtually impossible for even the most diligent internal teams without specialist support.
What if the “worst outcome” was knowing you are being billed correctly for your electricity and gas? Meet the Forensic Energy Cost Audit.
What is a Forensic Energy Cost Audit?
Our Forensic Energy Cost Audit service analyses the non-commodity rates applied to your billing at forensic level for your financial health whilst additionally checking your eligibility for exemptions from non-commodity costs such as the Climate Change Levy.
Your energy bill is made up of two elements: Wholesale cost of the electricity and gas you use – the commodity cost – and non-commodity costs, also known as third party charges. Non-commodity costs can currently make up to 60% of a business energy bill, but their impact depends on your portfolio.
While your invoices may not raise concerns in your bill validation system, there could be undiscovered opportunities to obtain refunds and savings by analysing and reconfiguring your non-commodity costs.
Businesses can typically claim refunds for overcharges going back up to six years, in addition to securing ongoing savings that provide a valuable cash injection for your organisation.
A real zero-risk service, a Forensic Cost Audit funds itself from a share of savings-basis; and if we find nothing, there is no fee.
“We already have a bill validation service”
That’s great, but this is not a bill validation service. In fact, you can benefit from a Forensic Energy Cost Audit even if you use one.
Both services have a place in comprehensive energy management: bill validation ensures your billing reflects your contracted rates on an ongoing basis, while a forensic cost audit scrutinises your past and present invoices to ensure your non-commodity costs have been correct to begin with.
Honed by decades of industry expertise in non-commodity charging methodologies, our expert analysts can pinpoint and correct errors traditional bill validation services do not examine.
“We have already used a similar service”
Many businesses claim to offer a similar service to a Forensic Energy Cost Audit. However, majority of our recoveries are from second- or third-pass audits, where one or even, in many cases, two other consultancies have already analysed a client’s utility billing.
Our Forensic Cost Audit service is also available across other utilities – telecoms and water.
How can Inspired help?
Despite the level of technical work a Forensic Cost Audit involves, there is no impact on your workload – we’ll do the running.
Firstly, we collect all relevant data from suppliers, network operators and other third parties. Our experts will then analyse your past and present invoices line by line to pinpoint all cost recovery opportunities, undercharges and ongoing savings. We will also assess your eligibility for levy reductions and exemptions across various schemes.
If we uncover something, we can pursue any refunds from suppliers and third parties on your behalf. If you are eligible for exemptions, we will help you create a strong application and take care of ongoing commitments on your behalf.
What have learnt about a Forensic Cost Audit so far? It’s a financial due diligence exercise with no risk to you. If you would like one, please email us at [email protected]
