Riverside County hires a firm to find savings in its own electric bills

On June 9, the county's Office of Economic Development won approval for an amendment to its agreement with Procure America for a tariff rate optimization study — a review of the county's electric accounts to confirm each one is billed on the lowest-cost rate schedule its usage qualifies for.

The contract runs on a shared-savings model. Procure America is paid entirely out of the net savings it actually realizes, capped against the study's roughly $114,500 base over a 60-month term, with up to about $11,500 in additional compensation. If the firm finds nothing, it collects nothing.

Utility rate schedules are dense, and they change. A large account whose operations have shifted can sit on the wrong schedule for years, overpaying without any flag from the utility. Outside specialists exist precisely because the savings can be real and the analysis is specialized. That the county — an organization with its own finance staff — is paying for that look is the detail worth noting for any operator carrying a comparable power load.