HBD Accounting

To make up the difference, electricity costs over the two and a half years on record prior to the HBD's move to its own connection were averaged month-to-month (there is an average for each month). These averages are adjusted for current per-kilowatt-hour rates and then subracted from the current month's bill as the basis for reimbursement.

Detroit Edison has an uncanny knack for screwing up such systems. They rely almost exclusively on estimated readings for billing, and then come out once every six months or so to do an actual reading. They then compile the charges for the entire six month period, deduct any payments made against the estimated readings during that same period, and bill the remainder/reimburse the excess. This is why it may appear that the electricity charge skyrockets every six months or so - it's not actually skyrocketing. Edison is simply estimating against last year - when the HBD was not on the line. The actuals are then necessarily higher than those from the prior year, resulting in a significant bill every six months or so. For this same reason, I stopped bothering with month-to-month reimbursements, choosing instead to reimburse in alignment with Edison's bill from actual readings. "Surprises" from actual readings should stabilize now since the HBD has been in this setting for over a year now. The final set of estimates based on pre-HBD readings should now be complete.