Predominant Use Studies

"We are seeing an increasing number of clients that are paying sales tax on their energy bills, when more than 50% of their business is manufacturing. With the ever changing, confusing tax laws, manufacturers are overlooking an avoidable cost on their energy bill. With a predominate use study, not only can we eliminate sales tax going forward, but we can often secure retroactive refunds for prior periods from the state as well."

- Michael Clifton, Lead Engineer, 5

Often commercial and industrial clients do not take the time to understand the tax codes for their industry or region and assume that only non-profits qualify for tax savings and refunds. Clients may be leaving money on the table and the longer this goes unnoticed, the more refund dollars are potentially lost forever due to the associated statute of limitations.

During the initial discovery phase with a new client, 5 takes the time to understand the company’s operations and reviews energy bills to look for potential discrepancies and opportunities. If a client uses more than 50% of their power consumption for a qualified manufacturing process, they may qualify for tax savings using a Predominant Use Study. This applies to both deregulated and regulated service territories throughout the United States.

When potential tax savings are identified, 5 helps the client to commission a Predominant Use Study to receive the appropriate engineering report to meet the state’s requirements and to eliminate the associated tax. Furthermore, 5 assists clients in requesting these tax refunds for prior years as well, up to the maximum allowed by law.

Predominant Use Studies are another aspect of 5’s comprehensive approach to helping clients reduce and control energy costs while recognizing the need to make synchronous decisions across every aspect of the energy value chain. When clients work with 5, they come to expect this type of relentless pursuit of excellence.

Contact Us to learn how 5 can help your facilities to complete a Predominant Use Study as part of a Whole Health Energy Plan.