Backcharge and the Utility-Bill Autopsy

Field notes

Backcharge compares bill line items with the bill's own totals and meter-related figures before evaluating specific conditions, including zero-consumption charges, estimated-read streaks, rate-class boundaries, and third-party supply above the utility's price to compare. Its stated policy is to set aside bills whose arithmetic does not reconcile and to label unavailable checks rather than treating them as successful. The page also identifies a Pennsylvania sales-tax case involving metered electricity and gas for certain exempt entities.