Utility Cost Intelligence
Bills, tariffs, contracts, meter data and market prices all describe the same spend, but they live in different places. Utility Cost Intelligence connects them so you can understand, validate and control what you pay.
Utility Cost Intelligence (UCI) is the discipline of converting fragmented utility bills, tariffs, contracts, usage data and market information into verified intelligence for controlling utility costs. Discovery Energy defines it as eight connected stages: Collect, Validate, Audit, Optimize, Procure, Benchmark, Monitor and Report.
01 / 07
Why utility cost needs a framework now
Utility spend has become harder to ignore and harder to explain. The average US commercial electricity price rose from 10.68¢ per kWh in 2019 to 13.41¢ in 2025, about 26%, and the industrial price from 6.81¢ to 8.62¢, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Rate cases, riders, and capacity and transmission charges can raise a bill even when a site uses no more energy than before.
At the same time, the data to check those bills has grown. About 84% of US electricity meters were advanced meters in 2024, including about 81% of commercial meters. Advanced meters record usage at least hourly and send the data to the utility and the customer at least once a day. That makes it possible to test demand charges and peaks against actual load, if someone connects the interval data to the bill and the tariff.
Most companies have the pieces. Finance holds the bills, procurement holds the contracts, facilities knows the equipment and sustainability needs the usage. UCI is the method for joining them around one account inventory, so each question about utility cost has one verified answer.
02 / 07
The eight stages
Each stage answers one management question. They run as a loop: new bills, rate changes and acquisitions restart the cycle at Collect.
Collect
Bring bills, accounts, usage, contracts and rate schedules into one structured data set. Nothing else works until this does.
Validate
Check each bill against the tariff and contract that actually apply, not just against itself.
Audit
Test billing history for overcharges, wrong rate classes and missed credits. Validation becomes recovery.
Optimize
Set each account up correctly going forward: rate, riders, classification.
Procure
Where markets allow choice, buy supply using verified usage and well-timed market data.
Benchmark
Compare cost and usage across sites, utilities and regions to surface the exceptions.
Monitor
Keep checking after the audit. Tariffs change, meters fail, acquisitions add accounts.
Report
Turn findings, savings and trends into information the budget owners can act on.
03 / 07
What each stage answers, and how Discovery delivers it
| Stage | Management question | Inputs | How Discovery delivers it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collect | What do we have, and where? | Bills, account and meter records, contracts, rate schedules | A letter of authorization to request data from each utility; every account, meter, contract and bill entered in TaraBase; bill pay routing every bill centrally |
| Validate | Is this month's bill right? | Each new bill, its tariff and its contract | Every bill reviewed before payment; errors held and disputed rather than paid |
| Audit | What were we overcharged, and can we recover it? | 36 to 48 months of bills, interval data, tariffs in force at the time | A contingency utility bill audit of electricity and natural gas; claims filed with your approval |
| Optimize | Is each account set up correctly from now on? | Load, rate options, riders, classification | Rate reclassifications, rider opt-outs and corrected classifications; a free rate class check to start |
| Procure | When and how should we buy supply? | Verified usage, contract expirations, forward prices | Energy procurement for every eligible account in deregulated markets, timed with the monthly Energy Risk Report |
| Benchmark | Which sites are out of line? | Cost, usage and CO2e by site, region and period | TaraBase comparisons by facility, by region and against each site's own history |
| Monitor | What changed since the audit? | New bills, tariff changes, new accounts | In an ongoing engagement, bills in TaraBase are reviewed at least monthly for anomalies and changes in rates or tariff rules |
| Report | What do budget owners need to see? | Findings, savings against baseline, usage, emissions | TaraBase reporting with savings measured against a baseline agreed before work starts |
04 / 07
Why utility cost is a data problem first
A single bill is a data point, not an answer. It reflects one rate schedule, one meter read and one set of charges. It cannot tell you whether those inputs were applied correctly, how the site compares with similar sites, or whether the supply contract is still competitive.
Multiply that by dozens or hundreds of accounts, several utilities, multiple states or provinces and years of history, and the information no longer fits in one place. The US alone has almost 3,000 electric distribution utilities, each with its own tariffs. Finance, procurement and facilities each hold a piece. UCI closes the gap without replacing any of them.
How UCI compares with familiar services
| Provider type | Primary role |
|---|---|
| Energy broker | Competitive supply purchasing |
| Utility auditor | Historical billing review and recovery |
| Bill-pay provider | Collecting, paying and organizing bills |
| Utility software | Storing, displaying and alerting on data |
| Utility Cost Intelligence | Connects all of the above across one account inventory |
05 / 07
Where to start
Few companies need all eight stages on day one. The right entry point depends on what hurts most.
Bills are late and the data is a mess
Start with Collect and Validate through bill pay. A complete account inventory makes every later stage possible.
Costs rose and no one can say why
Start with Audit and Optimize. A review of 36 to 48 months of bills separates legitimate rate increases from billing errors.
Supply contracts are expiring
Audit first, then Procure. If a site is on the wrong rate class or misclassified, that error becomes part of the baseline you buy against.
The company just made an acquisition
Collect the acquired accounts, then audit them. Acquired sites often inherit wrong rate classes, expiring contracts and old billing addresses.
Sustainability needs Scope 2 data
Collect and Report. The same line-item bill data used for payment supplies usage by site and period.
You already have a broker or energy manager
Add Audit as a second opinion. Brokers buy supply; few test every account against its tariff.
06 / 07
UCI in practice
A global chemical distributor had grown by acquisition to more than 215 facilities in 45 states and 7 Canadian provinces, with more than 1,000 utility accounts, 87 providers and roughly 350 invoices a month and no single process. Discovery built an ongoing service across bill management, reporting, auditing, account administration, ESG tracking and benchmarking on one TaraBase data set.
The company reports that the same data now supports its GHG Protocol Scope 1 and 2, CDP, ESRS E1 and SBTi reporting. Read the 215-facility case. Validation also works behind an incumbent: at a national steel company with an energy manager in place, an independent audit found 17 misclassified accounts in 7 states and $374,326 in refunds. See second-opinion audits.
How UCI is priced
Each stage is priced by the service behind it. Audits are contingency-based, usually 15% to 50% of refunds and verified savings, with no upfront fee. Procurement is a fixed monthly fee or a disclosed supplier-paid commission. Bill pay is custom by bill volume and complexity, and TaraBase reporting is included with it. See pricing.
07 / 07
Questions buyers ask
What is Utility Cost Intelligence?
Utility Cost Intelligence (UCI) is the discipline of converting fragmented utility bills, tariffs, contracts, usage data and market information into verified intelligence for controlling utility costs. Discovery Energy defines it as eight stages: Collect, Validate, Audit, Optimize, Procure, Benchmark, Monitor and Report.
How is Utility Cost Intelligence different from a utility bill audit?
An audit is a backward look at a defined period of billing that recovers past errors. It covers the Validate, Audit and Optimize stages. UCI connects that work to ongoing data collection, procurement, benchmarking, monitoring and reporting so accuracy is maintained after the audit ends.
How is it different from energy procurement?
Procurement decides how and when to buy competitive supply; it is the Procure stage. UCI grounds that decision in verified usage and billing data and keeps checking the result.
What data does it use?
Utility bills, account and meter records, usage and interval data, tariffs and rate schedules, supply contracts, market prices and relevant regulatory information.
Does it replace our broker, consultant or software?
No. UCI is designed to work alongside existing finance, procurement and energy teams, brokers and platforms. Discovery's independent validation has repeatedly run beside an active energy-management provider.
What is TaraBase's role?
TaraBase is the platform Discovery uses to consolidate data, track findings and report. It enables UCI; the discipline also includes human tariff analysis, auditing, optimization and procurement.
Which utilities does UCI cover?
Audit and procurement cover electricity and natural gas. Collection, bill pay and reporting can include water, sewer and any other utility type, which are paid and recorded but not audited.
Sources
- US EIA, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.3, average price of electricity to ultimate customers, commercial 10.68¢ (2019) and 13.41¢ (2025) per kWh; industrial 6.81¢ and 8.62¢. 2025 values are preliminary.
- US EIA, Electric Power Annual, Table 10.05, advanced metering count by technology type, 140.5 million AMI meters of 168.1 million total in 2024; 16.5 million of 20.4 million commercial meters.
- US EIA, FAQ: How many smart meters are installed in the United States?, definition of AMI as meters that record usage at least hourly and provide data at least daily.
- US EIA, Investor-owned utilities served 72% of US electricity customers in 2017, almost 3,000 electric distribution utilities.
Find out what your bills should have cost.
Send one recent bill per site, or a list of accounts. We tell you where we expect findings before you sign anything. No upfront audit fee.