Title
Report on the Time of Use and Residential Demand Implementation
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Time-Of-Use and Residential Demand Rate Implementation Background
The Time-of-Use (TOU) and Residential Demand rates were implemented on July 1, 2026, as approved by the Board of Public Utilities and County Council. Since implementation, staff have worked closely with Tyler Munis and internal departments to address several system configuration and billing challenges associated with transitioning to the new rate structures.
Pre-Deployment Actvities
The implementation kickoff meeting with Tyler Technologies (Munis) was held in December 2025. The meeting established the initial project scope and identified several key areas requiring coordination and development, including: Upgrading the existing Munis software version from 2024.5 to 2024.6, establishing the required meter-read file layout from Sensus/Ferguson, modifying the existing V-Flex file, reviewing and cleaning up customer accounts designated as Opt-Out, reviewing and updating the bill print layout, and discussing the process and system configuration necessary to transition residential accounts to Time-of-Use (TOU) and Residential Demand.
Beginning January 15, 2026, biweekly project meetings were established with Tyler Technologies Project Manager Ms. Rhonda Trombley and staff from the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) and County Information Management (IM). These meetings reviewed project milestones, addressed technical issues, and coordinated implementation activities.
In January, a file layout was developed in accordance with Tyler Technologies’ specifications and provided to Sensus/Ferguson for use in preparing the meter-read data imports. The required changes to the V-Flex file were identified and sent to Tyler development. For clarification, the V-Flex file runs every day and is sent to Sensus/Ferguson to keep both systems up to date with changes such as meter change-outs, new customers, and updates to the remote IDs.
In February, the DPU test environment was refreshed and upgraded to the required Munis software version. Rate configurations for TOU, Residential Demand, and Opt-Out accounts were entered into the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Several County employee accounts were used as test accounts and manually converted to TOU rates to evaluate the rate master configuration and billing functionality. During this period, a program was under development to transition all existing residential meters to TOU. Initial testing identified a missing software feature necessary to complete the transition. As a result, the program was returned to development for additional modifications. Additional development work was also required to address how solar services are treated within the TOU billing structure. Solar service was included in the TOU billing channels and needed to be removed as a billable service. At the time, DPU had approximately 500 solar customers.Testing also identified issues with the rate master configuration and the reporting of TOU, Residential Demand, and solar accounts. These issues were documented for further review and resolution.
In March, the bill proof was loaded into the test environment for review. However, DPU continued to await completion of the TOU transition program that had been returned to development in February. DPU also worked with Sensus/Ferguson to coordinate the necessary meter software updates. Sensus/Ferguson began preparing the updates that would be deployed to meters in the field. In addition, data cleanup activities within the production environment were underway to prepare customer accounts for implementation. Billing dates were established for the 1st, 8th, 15th, and 22nd of each month to accommodate the scheduling of demand resets.
Testing continued throughout April, along with ongoing production data cleanup and system preparation activities. These efforts were focused on resolving outstanding issues and preparing the system for the anticipated July 2026 implementation.
Throughout May and June, software updates were provided to address issues identified during testing. Rate and system configurations were also prepared for entry into the production environment.
As of June 2, 2026, an additional software update remained outstanding to address an issue involving compound meters and their associated TOU channels.
On June 8, testing continued using the established County employee test accounts. Throughout testing, the DPU test environment was refreshed multiple times to incorporate software updates and validate system functionality. Based on the completed testing activities and the project’s implementation checklist, it was agreed the system was ready to proceed with the planned July 1, 2026, implementation.
July 2026, all residential meters were billed through June 30, 2026. In preparation for the transition, meter update commands were sent to convert the meters in the field to TOU functionality. During the deployment process, several meters were identified as unable to accept the updates successfully. DPU staff worked closely with Sensus/Ferguson to identify the affected meters, troubleshoot the issues, and coordinate additional software updates. A revised program was also developed to address meters that could not be updated through the initial process. More recently, some meters that continued to fail the remote update process were successfully updated individually in the field. A Sensus/Ferguson representative also traveled to Los Alamos to assist with on-site meter updates.
DPU continues to work with Sensus/Ferguson and Tyler Technologies to resolve the remaining meter communication and software update issues.
Summary of Implementation Challenges
Original System Design
The TOU configuration currently in use was originally developed by Tyler Munis for another utility company. That utility ultimately chose not to proceed with the implementation. This has contributed to several of the challenges experienced since implementation and has required ongoing effort for staff and Tyler Munis project manager. Tyler Munis Development currently has a high-priority project underway to enable billing based on meter reads rather than calculated usage. The target completion date for this functionality is early December. Once the enhancement is available, testing will be conducted to validate the new billing process. There may be some manual effort required to load the final previous meter read for each TOU rate and solar account into the billing system. The goal is to establish a true read-to-read billing process and begin billing under this methodology in January 2027.
Billing Delays
During the initial months following implementation, a number of customers experienced delays in receiving utility bills. In some cases, customers waited up to seven weeks to receive a bill. To manage processing and system constraints, billing is currently being completed in scheduled cycles on the 1st, 8th, 15th, and 22nd of each month. While billing timeliness has improved, staff continue to monitor the process to ensure customers receive bills as close to their regular cycle dates as possible.
Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) Calculation Errors
Shortly after implementation, staff identified an issue with the Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) calculation within the billing system. The configuration error was corrected, and all affected customers were identified, notified, and billed using the corrected calculation methodology. At this time, the GRT issue has been resolved.
Time-of-Use and Residential Demand Billing Calculations
The existing TOU billing system requires consumption (usage) data as an input, while the utility's meter read file contains raw meter read values. As a result, additional calculation and validation are necessary to derive usage, creating ongoing issues with TOU billing accuracy and efficiency. As a temporary solution, staff have developed a monthly manual process to calculate and validate usage data. Additionally, an Excel macro developed by Ms. Clare Buntrock in IM has significantly reduced processing time and eliminated several manual calculation errors. This temporary solution has improved billing accuracy while a permanent system enhancement is being developed. Tyler Munis is currently developing a read-based TOU solution designed to more accurately align billing calculations with the raw meter read data contained in the Sensus file uploaded into the billing software. In addition to the TOU challenges, staff identified that Residential Demand meter readings are not being transferred into the billing file correctly. Because the system is not consistently capturing the peak demand values needed for billing, staff have implemented a temporary workaround utilizing the Sensus Data Lake reporting system. Staff extract the highest demand reading recorded during the customer's 30-day billing period and incorporate that information into the Excel macro developed by Information Management. This process allows Residential Demand bills to be calculated accurately while staff works with Sensus/Ferguson toward a permanent system correction.
Bill Adjustment Functionality
Staff continue to experience issues with the bill adjustment functionality within Tyler Munis, specifically for only Time of Use and Residential Charges, including solar. The feature demonstrated limited functionality prior to the recent system upgrade on November 2, 2026 and appeared to function during testing. However, following deployment to the production environment, the functionality again failed to perform as expected. Tyler Munis Project Manager is actively working with the Tyler Development Team to identify and implement a permanent solution. Staff anticipate receiving an explanation of the issue, along with a proposed timeline for resolution by November 13, 2026.
Consumption Reporting Issues
Current consumption reports do not include the necessary Time of Use rate breakdowns required for reporting. To produce monthly consumption reports and meet quarterly reporting requirements, staff currently rely on billing reports and perform additional manual data compilation and analysis. This reporting deficiency has been reported to Tyler Munis Development and remains an active issue under review.
Rate Effective Date Configuration
A significant unresolved issue involves the effective date methodology used for the Time of Use (TOU) and Residential Demand rates. Utility rates are traditionally established and applied based on the meter read date, which aligns charges with the period during which the service was consumed. However, Tyler Munis has been unable to determine why the TOU and Residential Demand rates cannot be configured using a read-date methodology within the current system setup. When staff attempt to configure these rates using the meter read date, consistent with all other utility rates, the system incorrectly applies the rate change twice, resulting in double billing of customers. Because of this issue, the TOU and Residential Demand rates in the system must be set at bill date rather than read date. This limitation creates operational challenges and raises significant concerns for future rate adjustments. Any future changes to TOU or Residential Demand rates will require additional manual review and testing to ensure customers are billed correctly and are not adversely impacted by system calculation errors. Staff have reported this issue to Tyler Munis and continue to work with their development team to identify a permanent solution that will allow rates to be administered using the industry-standard read-date methodology.
Utility Assistance and Budget Billing Accounts
Staff have identified an issue affecting customers who receive monthly Utility Assistance and are also enrolled in Budget Billing. For these accounts, the amount due on account are not calculating the Budget Bill amount less the Utility Assistance. At this time, it is unclear whether this issue is directly related to the implementation of the Time of Use (TOU) and Residential Demand rate structures or to other system configuration changes within Tyler Munis. Staff are actively working with Tyler Munis to investigate the cause. In the interim, staff continue to monitor the three impacted accounts and provide manual review and assistance as needed to minimize customer impacts.