Accruals per Account by Month is a complex report in Energy Intelligence.  Please see below a detailed explanation.

Introduction

This report will attempt to calculate an estimated bill cost for an Account for a year and month period. It will use recent, historic bill data or metered consumption, depending on the “quality” of metered consumption available. It will only accrue where it there is no actual billing data for the complete month. It will calculate the accrual based on the best data available. The Accrual Type column outlines the accrual methodology that has been used.

It will calculate the accrual based on an hierarchical order (see below).

Notes:

• The report will default to using "periodic" channel data when sourcing metering data for the accrual calculation, but this filter can be changed to "non-periodic" as required
• To use the Inflation Factor column, you will need to have a Property Key attached to the Organisation.  This will determine what inflation factor you use.
  • Click here for details on how to create a Property Key

Recorded Session

A virtual recording was made in August 2020 regarding Accrual Reporting and this report was covered.  Click here to go to the Virtual Training Sessions page, or click here to go directly to the recording.

Available Data

Actual Metering Data IS Available

1. Where suitable metering data is available and there is a bill available for part of the month:
   1. EI will calculate an accrual for the missing days using an average pence per unit from the bill(s) and the metering data for the applicable number of days
2. Where suitable metering data is available and there is not a bill available for part of the month and there is a bill available that at least covers part of the previous month:
   1. EI will calculate an accrual for the missing days using an average pence per unit from the bill(s) in the previous month and the metering data for the applicable number of days
3. Where suitable metering data is available and there is not a bill available for part of the month and there is a bill available that covers at least part of the same month in the previous year:
   1. EI will calculate an accrual for the missing days using an average pence per unit from the bill(s) in the same month in the previous year and the metering data for the applicable number of days

Actual Metering Data IS NOT Available

1. Where suitable metering data is not available and there is a bill available for part of the month:
   1. EI will calculate an accrual for the missing days using an average daily amount from the bill for the applicable number of days to be accrued
2. Where suitable metering data is not available and there is not a bill available for part of the month and there is a bill available that covers at least part of the previous month:
   1. EI will calculate an accrual for the missing days using an average daily amount from the bill(s) in the previous month for the applicable number of days to be accrued
3. Where suitable metering data is not available and there is not a bill available for part of the month or previous month:
   1. EI will calculate an accrual for the missing days using an average daily amount from the bill(s) in the same month in the previous year for the applicable number of days to be accrued

Calculations

The report runs in the context of a Calendar year (i.e. the Accrual year selected), for each month within that year and for each account.

The report firstly determines the number of days that a bill is available for in the applicable month for the account. It then compares this to the number of days in the month and works out the difference (this difference effectively represents the number of days that needs to be accrued).

The report will output the calculation method it has used in the “Accrual Type” field on the report (See below for Accrual Types)

If there are one or more bills days missing, then the report calculates the accrual based on the Accrual Types as listed below.

Configuration

• The report only uses bill data where A & R flags are set
• Metered consumption is preferred where there is at least 7 days of non-zero consumption available for the month being “Accrued”
• Metered consumption is sourced from all meters/channels under any supply point linked to the Account – it is possible to select whether periodic or non-periodic channels should be used

Limitations

• EI will only be able to use previous bill data if a bill exists in the prior month or year for the Account

Filters

• Filter by year(s) and/or month(s) that you wish to calculate Accruals for  
• Filter by a subset of:
  • Site Groups
  • Sites (this will update when a Site Group is selected)
  • Accounts (this will update when a Site is selected)
  • Commodity (Available when at least one Account is selected)
• Limit to specific channel types (periodic/non-periodic)
  • Useful when you have multiple configured under a supply and you prefer one source over another.
  • By default, “periodic” will be selected, but this can be changed as required
  • Limit to specific account commodities (e.g. Electricity, Gas, Water)  

Column Data

See below for an explanation of each column in the Report.  The examples are for the middle row of the above report.

Accrual Type Fields

No Accrual Required

If there are no bill days missing, then the accrual is “0” , therefore “No Accrual Required” will show

Metered Cons and Actual Month Bill PPU

If metered consumption is deemed reliable** AND there is a bill available that covers part of the month being accrued, the Estimated Bill Cost is calculated as:

[Daily_Avg_Metered_Cons] * [Bill_Avg_PPU_Current_Bill] * [Days_to_Accrue]

Explanation:

• [Daily_Avg_Metered_Cons] is the daily average metered consumption recorded this year for that month for the account
• [Bill_Avg_PPU_Current_Bill] is calculated from the total bill(s) cost/consumption for that month for the account (where a bill already covers part of the month)
• [Days_to_Accrue] is the number of days in the month that need to be accrued (as above)

Metered Cons and Previous Month Bill PPU

If metered consumption is deemed reliable** AND there is not a bill available the covers part of the month being accrued, AND there is a bill available that covers part of the previous month, the Estimated Bill Cost is calculated as:

[Daily_Avg_Metered_Cons] * [Bill_Avg_PPU_Previous_Month_Bill] * [Days_to_Accrue]

Explanation:

• [Daily_Avg_Metered_Cons] is the daily average metered consumption recorded this year for that month for the account
• [Bill_Avg_PPU_Previous_Month_Bill] is calculated from the average of last month’s total bill(s) cost/consumption for the account
• [Days_to_Accrue] is the number of days in the month that need to be accrued (as above)

Metered Cons and Previous Year Bill PPU with Inflation Factor

If metered consumption is deemed reliable** AND there is not a bill available the covers part of the month being accrued, AND there is not a bill available that covers part of the previous month, the Estimated Bill Cost is calculated as:

[Daily_Avg_Metered_Cons] * [Bill_Avg_PPU_Previous_Year_Bill] * [Days_to_Accrue] * [Inflation_Factor]

Explanation:

• [Daily_Avg_Metered_Cons] is the daily average metered consumption recorded this year for that month for the account
• [Bill_Avg_PPU_Previous_Year_Bill] is calculated from the average of last month’s total bill(s) cost/consumption for the account
• [Days_to_Accrue] is the number of days in the month that need to be accrued (as above)
• [Inflation_Factor] is the percentage uplift that should be applied to previous years billing data for the purpose of the calculation. This is to cover the fact the tariff costs may have inflated since the previous year. This inflation factor is configurable in each Sigma environment and is managed using a Property Key configured against the appropriate “Organisation” in Sigma. It is the “Inflation Factor (EI)” Property Key.
  • The example below would reflect a 10% uplift, 1.15 a 15% uplift, 1.2 a 20% uplift, and so on 

Actual Month Bill Daily Average

If  metered consumption is deemed unreliable** AND there is a bill available the covers part of the month being accrued, the Estimated Bill Cost is calculated as:

[Daily_Bill_Avg_Current_Bill] * [Days_to_Accrue]

Explanation:

• [Daily_Bill_Avg_Current_Bill ] is the daily total of the bill(s) taken from this year’s total bill net cost for that month for the account (where a bill already covers part of the month)
• [Days_to_Accrue] is the number of days in the month that need to be accrued (as above)

Previous Month Bill Daily Average

If metered consumption is deemed unreliable**  AND there is not a bill available the covers part of the month being accrued AND there is a bill available that covers part of the previous month, the Estimated Bill Cost is calculated as:

[Daily_Bill_Avg_Previous_Month_Bill] * [Days_to_Accrue]

Explanation:

• [Daily_Bill_Avg_Previous_Month_Bill] is the daily total of the bill(s) taken from last month’s total bill net cost for that month for the account
• [Days_to_Accrue] is the number of days in the month that need to be accrued (as above)

Previous Year Bill Daily Average with Inflation Factor  

If metered consumption is deemed unreliable** AND there is not a bill available the covers part of the month being accrued, the Estimated Bill Cost is calculated as:

[Daily_Bill_Avg_Previous_Year_Bill] * [Days_to_Accrue] *  [Inflation_Factor]

Explanation:

• [Bill_Avg_PPU_Previous_Year_Bill] is the daily total of the bill taken from last year’s total bill net cost for that month for the account
• [Days_to_Accrue] is the number of days in the month that need to be accrued (as above)
• [Inflation_Factor] is defined in section above

Accrual Not Possible

If no accrual could be calculated, then  “Accrual Not Possible” will show

Reliable / Unreliable criteria

** More than 7 days of non-zero consumption being available in the given month and the total consumption amount is greater than zero would be deemed as reliable data

Notes

• Although the report is monthly, is can cater for Accounts that have other bill frequencies as the billing data is apportioned into monthly periods based on the number of days the bill is applicable in the given month. E.g. if a billing period was 15/03/2020 to 30/04/2020 (i.e. 46 days), and April was being accrued; for the purpose of any calculation, it would apportion this bill to calculate the 30 days