Observations

Utility invoices often present usage data in ways that can lead to double-counting or confusion regarding the meaning of the data. Two primary challenges arise during the modeling process:

Ambiguous Terminology

Providers frequently use varied terms like "Actual," "Measured", "Estimated," "Metered", "Billed," or "Billed Units." This ambiguity makes it difficult for customers to distinguish between consumption recorded by a physical meter and consumption derived from billing formulas (such as demand ratchets or minimum bill charges).

Redundant Data

Invoices often manifest the same usage value in multiple locations—for example, once in a meter reading table and again as a line item in a charge block. Capturing every data point on the bill without a classification system would result in artificial "inflation" of energy data.

Policy

Arcadia employs a standardized classification system to ensure data transparency without compromising the accuracy of consumption analytics.

Measured vs. Cited Usage

To resolve terminology ambiguity, Arcadia categorizes all usage into two mutually exclusive types:

• Measured: Usage derived directly from metering infrastructure (e.g., physical meter reads). This represents the primary source of truth for energy consumption.
• Cited: Usage that is non-metered and often derived from a formula. This includes "billed units" for minimum charges, ratchets, or contractual consumption thresholds.

Contribution Status (Handling Redundancy)

To prevent the double-counting of replicated usage data, Arcadia assigns a Contribution Status to every usage entry:

• Contributing: Labeled for primary usage entries that represent unique consumption.
• Non-Contributing: Labeled for redundant, irrelevant, or duplicated entries. This allows Arcadia to capture all data present on the bill for auditing purposes while signaling to downstream systems which entries should be ignored during aggregation.

FAQs

How do I know which usage values to use for my ESG reporting?

You should always prioritize Measured usage with a Contributing status. These data points represent unique, metered consumption and are found within the Usage array via the "List Detailed Statements" endpoint.

Why am I seeing "Non-Contributing" usage in my data export?

Arcadia captures all data points visible on the bill to ensure a "digital twin" of the invoice. We label duplicates or redundant line items as "Non-Contributing" so you can filter them out to prevent double-counting in your internal dashboards.

What is a "Cited" usage?

Cited usage is an amount the utility "cites" for billing purposes that didn't necessarily come from a meter. For example, if you have a 100 kWh minimum charge but only used 80 kWh, the 100 kWh is "Cited" and the 80 kWh is "Measured."

Conclusion

By distinguishing between Measured and Cited usage and applying a Contribution Status, Arcadia provides a comprehensive yet safe data model. This framework allows customers to audit every value printed on a utility bill while providing the necessary metadata to filter out redundancies, ensuring that energy consumption analysis remains accurate and scalable.