Case Study
Park Place CONDOMINIUM:
Property Management Utility Bill Audit
Overview
Park Place Condominium is a 17-story high-rise complex with over 400 units, located in Alexandria, VA. The property is managed by Legum & Norman Inc. (L&N Inc.), an Associa Company. As part of a broader partnership, several Associa-managed properties engaged Utility Management Services (UMS) to perform contingency-based utility bill audits across their portfolios.
Using proprietary software RateMaster, UMS’s certified Business Energy Professional analysts searched Park Place’s billing history for errors, overcharges, and more cost-effective rate and rider combinations. Within a month, the audit was complete — and the news was straightforward: Park Place was already on the correct rate with no billing errors found.
That’s a good outcome. But UMS didn’t stop there.
As part of their ongoing monitoring agreement, UMS continued to audit Park Place’s utility bills annually to ensure the property stayed on the best available rate as usage patterns and utility tariffs evolved. Two years later, that persistence paid off. Due to rate restructuring by the power provider and changes in the building’s energy usage, UMS identified $15,540 in annual savings — savings that hadn’t existed at the time of the first audit but were now fully available to capture.
No operational changes were required. The savings were implemented directly with the power provider by UMS.
The Facts
- Park Place Condominium is a 17-story, 400+ unit high-rise in Alexandria, VA, managed by Legum & Norman Inc., an Associa Company
- UMS's initial audit confirmed Park Place was already on the best available rate with no billing errors — a clean result
- UMS continued monitoring the accounts annually under an ongoing agreement
- Two years later, rate restructuring and usage changes created a new savings opportunity. UMS identified $15,540 in annual savings with no operational changes required