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Texas Engineering Services has refocused our lines of business on Utility and Energy Management. In addition to our primary line of business, Predominant Use Studies, we have partnered with an experienced Utility Bill Auditing firm, Lumen Utility Consult, and now offer Utility Bill Auditing to our clients. We now have a Certified Energy Manager on staff and also offer Energy Efficiency Projects. We are laser focusing on these three lines of business in the Energy and Utility Management area to help our clients save on energy and utilities.

In about 30 states across the U.S., including Texas, certain types of businesses can qualify for sales tax exemptions on natural gas and electricity. Your company could qualify for an exemption and refund of sales taxes paid in the past—up to 48 months in Texas. An non-exhaustive list of businesses that may qualify are companies engaged in manufacturing, oil and gas, mining, printing, textiles, radio and television production, and off-wing overhaul of aviation engines and components. The specific rules vary from state-to-state but, in general, obtaining an exemption requires a Predominant Use Study (in Texas, see the Texas Administrative Code, Title 34, Rule §3.295). A Predominant Use Study is a special kind of engineering study used to establish whether the predominant (over 50%) consumption of natural gas or electricity is for sales tax-exempt purposes. Basically, if the predominant use of natural gas or electricity consumed through a particular meter is used for sales-tax-exempt purposes, then all consumption through that meter is sales-tax exempt. The applicable sales-tax rate varies depending on where your company is located but, the savings and refund can be significant and amount to several percent of your natural gas or electric utility bills. Some states give you the option of performing your own Predominant Use Study. In Texas, Rule §3.295 allows allows “a registered engineer or a person with an engineering degree from an accredited engineering college” to perform the study. However, most companies opt to have these studies performed by an outside firm since staff engineers are often not skilled in this area and more appropriately and efficiently engaged supporting their core business. Also, state comptrollers perform audits from time-to-time, so it is important for Predominant Use Studies to be thorough and accurate. Completing a thorough and accurate study is a detailed and painstaking process. Some firms base their fees for performing Predominant Use Studies on a percentage of the potential sales-tax refund for which their clients may be eligible. While this generally reduces or eliminates up-front fees, companies normally pay a lot more for a study under this type of agreement. As always, beware of anyone who promises to do something for “free.” A more transparent approach is a fixed-price fee based on the cost estimate for completing the study. This type of agreement maximizes your refund and minimizes your costs. The bottom line is, if your company qualifies for a sales-tax exemption on natural gas and electricity and you are not taking advantage of the savings, you are leaving money on the table.

There are so many daily concerns that consume most managers time that many are unaware of the fact that commercial businesses pay sales-taxes on both electricity and natural gas. Since there are no sales-taxes on residential electricity and natural gas, some assume the same is true for businesses. Electricity and natural gas represent large expense lines for most businesses and sales-taxes on these bills can be significant. They are often one of those charges on the bill few notice or understand, and they quietly chip away at the bottom line. But, in many cases, there’s an alternative. In Texas, manufacturing and some other types of businesses can qualify for sales-tax exemptions on natural gas and electricity. Your company could qualify for an exemption and refund of sales-taxes paid in the past—up to four years. As detailed in Texas state comptroller rule §3.295, a Predominant Use Study, certified by a qualified engineer, is required to obtain an exemption of sales-taxes on electricity and natural gas. A Predominant Use Study is an engineering study used to establish whether the predominant (or over 50%) consumption of natural gas and/or electricity is for sales tax-exempt purposes. Basically, if the predominant use of natural gas or electricity consumed through a meter is used for sales-tax-exempt purposes, then ALL consumption through that meter is exempt. The monthly savings and refunds can be significant for your business. And, since the maximum refund period is four years, if you have been paying sales-taxes on your electricity or natural gas for four years or more, every month you delay establishing sales-tax exemptions for your business is another month beyond the refund period and lost forever. Download our download our Step-By-Step Guide to obtaining your exemptions and refunds for more information. #predominantusestudies

T EXAS E NGINEERING S ERVICES Certified Energy Managers - Energy and Utility Management Contact Us By Phone: 682-651-7568 By Email: info@texeng.com By Contact Form: Contact Form Submit Thanks for contacting us. We will get in touch with you today.

T EXAS E NGINEERING S ERVICES Certified Energy Managers - Energy and Utility Management Predominant Use Studies - Service Levels and ROM Pricing We offer three levels of service tailored to the needs of your company. Level I : This is our standard option. We deliver a complete, certified study, and certified exemption certificates for qualified meters, for a quoted fixed price. Note that, as a part of our service, we will certifiy any additional certified exemption certificates required if you ever change utility service providers, for as long as the study is valid. Level II : This option includes our Level I service plus preparation of the request package required to apply for any qualified sales tax credits from your utility service provider, or refunds from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Any qualified credits or refunds will come directly to your company. Level III : This is our no up-front cost option and includes our Level 1 service plus we will apply for and receive any qualified refunds on your behalf from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. We will take our fees from the refunds and forward the balance to your company. Note: Level III is only an option if the potential refunds are greater than the cost of the study. ​ ROM Pricing ​ We are an engineering consulting firm specializing in energy and utility management. Our pricing is based on the incremental cost of accomplishing the work in lieu of as a percentage of your savings. We believe this is the fairest way to do business since it maximizes your refund and return on investment for performing the study. We provide an up-front, written quotation with firm, fixed pricing so, there are no surprises. ​ But what does a study cost? In developing our fixed-price quotes, we consider factors that affect the level of effort required to complete a study when preparing quotations. These factors include the size and location of the facility, number of buildings, number of meters, number of pieces of equipment, availability of data and required information, etc. A Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) estimate can be obtained by multiplying the facility square footage by $0.07. This would provide a general ROM price for a facility with one electricity and/or one natural gas meter and an average number of pieces of equipment to be tabulated in the study. Please bear in mind this is a general rule-of-thumb and the actual quoted price may be less or more if there are multiple meters, multiple buildings, more complex operations, and less/greater than average equipment density. With some very basic information about your facility, we will generate a fixed-price quotation. ​ No Risk Guarantee: ​ In the event we undertake a study and none of your meters qualify for an exemption, we do not charge a fee. So, there is no risk to your company. You can download our Step-By-Step Guide to sales-tax exemptions and refunds. You can request a quotation by downloading the Predominant Use Study Quotation Questionnaire . More questions? See our FAQs Call, Email , or Contact Us for a no-cost consultation!

T EXAS E NGINEERING S ERVICES Certified Energy Managers - Energy and Utility Management Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Call, Email , or Contact Us to schedule a no-cost consultation and competitive quotation!