Utility Bill Validation Services -
Maximising Efficiency, Minimising Costs

Validating your utility bills is an important part of our service and could make all the difference to your energy costs.

When it comes to utility bills, a surprising number of businesses are charged for a lot more energy than they actually consume. Often, mistakes are made through incorrect bill estimations and contract changes, and this can lead to you overpaying by a significant amount. SOCOTEC’s utility bill validation service ensures that your business is only billed for the energy it uses at the rates agreed by your supplier, which could make all the difference to your monthly energy consumption and costs.

What does SOCOTEC’s utility bill validation service entail?

SOCOTEC will gain a thorough understanding of your business’ energy requirements by identifying peaks and troughs in your electricity usage, using this to calculate how you can use the energy that you are paying for as efficiently as possible.  

Your energy bills will then be analysed by SOCOTEC’s utility bill validation software as soon as they are issued by your supplier. This allows us to ensure that you are receiving all of your contracted benefits from your supplier and that your bills tally with your actual electricity, gas and/or water consumption.

How will SOCOTEC’s utility bill validation service ensure that my energy bills are calculated accurately?

All invoices received by Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), Comma-Separated Values (CSV) file or paper bills will be validated against Half Hour Data (HHD)/Automated Meter Reading data, customer reads and current contract rates. If customer reads are provided, these will be added to the database and energy consumption will be checked against previous invoices. Invoices will also be checked to ensure that the correct Climate Change Levy (CCL) and VAT rates are charged. All of the above actions will be carried out prior to payment.

A report will also be provided to you on a monthly basis detailing the bills failed for the month, savings identified and savings realised (such as credit notes and re-bills received from your energy supplier).

How often will my energy supplier be contacted as part of the utility bill validation service?

With regards to the resolution of any outstanding bill enquiries, your energy supplier will be liaised with on a regular basis. The communications log within the energy bill validation software will be used to manage all billing-related enquiries between your business and your supplier. 

All billing files will be validated within five days of receipt from the energy suppliers. After the validation of the EDI file, a report will be issued back to the supplier advising which bills have been passed for payments and which utility bills have been rejected and why. SOCOTEC will liaise with suppliers on a regular basis regarding the resolution of outstanding utility bill enquiries and would also arrange quarterly meetings with energy suppliers to discuss and resolve any long outstanding issues.

SOCOTEC will liaise with you where additional information is required from the site contact or property team in order for the utility billing query to be resolved.