Skip to main content
Need help in this area? See Methodology FAQ.
Real-world utility billing isn’t always straightforward. This page explains how Nectar handles special situations you might encounter.

Revised bills

Sometimes utilities issue a corrected bill for usage that was already on an earlier bill — for example, if a meter was misread or a rate was applied incorrectly.

How Nectar handles revisions

Revision linking is per usage row:
  1. Selected usage on the earlier bill is marked as superseded and excluded from usage, emissions, completeness, and usage exports
  2. Unrevised usage on that bill (if any) still counts toward totals
  3. Both bills remain visible so you can compare documents and review which rows were linked

In the platform

  • An amber banner appears on a bill that has superseded usage; a blue banner appears on a bill that revises usage from earlier bills
  • Superseded rows are shaded amber, and their usage amounts are struck through. Select the amount to open the revised bill; unlink from the Usage table if needed
  • Revision history is the edit audit log — not the revision link itself
Related docs: Bill detail
Usage totals exclude only superseded rows. Partial revisions leave sibling usage on the earlier bill in your usage totals.

Cost and credits

Site cost keeps the earlier bill’s original meter and site relationships when allocating that bill’s net charges. This prevents a partial correction from moving historical charges to unrevised sites. Both the earlier and correcting bills remain monetary records. A revision link does not cancel charges automatically:
  • If the correcting bill includes a credit that reverses the earlier charges, the credit reduces combined spend.
  • If the utility does not issue a matching credit, both bills continue to contribute cost until the monetary records are corrected.
See Cost allocation — Revised bills.

Solar and net metering

If you have on-site solar, your electricity bills may show credits for energy you send back to the grid.

How Nectar tracks solar

Site totals

For sites with solar, Nectar calculates your net consumption:
Net consumption = Electricity imported − Electricity exported
This gives you an accurate picture of how much grid electricity you actually used. Related docs: Electricity analytics

Sewer and water

Water and sewer are closely related — most utilities calculate sewer based on your water consumption, since what goes in must come out.

When sewer usage isn’t reported

Many utilities charge for sewer but don’t report sewer usage separately. In these cases, Nectar can estimate sewer usage based on your water consumption. This appears in your data as implied usage and is clearly marked so you know it’s an estimate rather than a direct meter reading.

Water footprint

Your total water footprint includes both:
  • Water consumption (potable or reclaimed water used)
  • Wastewater (sewer discharge)
Related docs: Water analytics

Partial occupancy

If your company only occupies part of a building, you may want to track just your portion of utility usage.

How occupancy percentage works

Set an occupancy percentage on a site to indicate your share, then choose an adjustment mode to control when the adjustment is applied:
  • All data — every usage record at the site is multiplied by the percentage.
  • Per connection — only connections with Multiply by occupancy enabled are adjusted.
  • Disabled — the percentage is stored for reference but never applied.
For example, if you occupy 60% of a building and select All data, a bill showing 10,000 kWh produces a tenant usage of 6,000 kWh. The full meter data is always preserved for reference in bill detail views. For full setup instructions, mode selection guidance, and FAQs, see Occupancy adjustment.

Time-of-use electricity

Some electricity bills break down usage by time period — on-peak, off-peak, and shoulder hours — with different rates for each.

How Nectar handles time-of-use

When your bill includes time-of-use data, Nectar:
  1. Captures each period’s usage separately
  2. Sums them for your total consumption
  3. Preserves the breakdown in your bill details
The detailed time-of-use information remains available in your bill records, while analytics use the total consumption figure.

Summary bills

Large organizations sometimes receive a single summary bill that consolidates multiple accounts or locations.

How Nectar handles summary bills

Summary bills are flagged separately from regular bills. When you also have individual bills for each location, Nectar uses the detailed bills for analytics to avoid double-counting.

Overlapping billing periods

Occasionally, two bills for the same meter might cover overlapping dates. This is usually a data quality issue — perhaps an estimated bill followed by an actual read, or a duplicate.

What happens

Nectar flags overlapping periods for your review in Data Quality. You can then:
  • Mark one as a revised bill (if it’s a correction)
  • Exclude one from totals (if it’s a duplicate)
  • Leave both if the overlap is intentional
Related docs: Data Quality overview, Data Quality issues

Questions about your data?

If you see something unexpected in your data, check:
  1. Bill details — view the original bill to see exactly what was reported
  2. Data Quality — review any flagged issues
  3. Inspect Aggregation — see how bills contribute to your totals
Still have questions? Contact [email protected].

See also

Data Quality

Review flagged issues and missing data

Glossary

Definitions for all terms