Only Some Service Providers Have Sub SAs

If you do not provide billing services for a service provider, there will be no sub SAs associated with the service provider's SA relationships. Let's use an example to make the point; assume:

• Service is divided into distribution, energy and meter service charges.
• You are the distribution company and you provide billing services for the energy supply company.
• The meter service company bills the customer independently.

In this situation, the customer will receive two bills: one from you (LG&E), the other from MeterCo. Notice that your bill (LG&E) contains your distribution charges AND CheapPower's energy charges:

If we were to look at the customer information in the three service providers' respective CIS systems, we'd find the following service agreements and SA relationships for the customer:

Notice the following:

• The customer has a service agreement in each supplier's CIS system.
• Because LG&E (the distribution company) bills for CheapPower, all customers who have their energy supplied by CheapPower will have a sub SA in LG&E's system. This sub SA maintains the charges (and receivable balance) associated with CheapPower's energy charges.
• Notice that neither CheapPower's nor MeterCo's CIS systems use sub SAs. This is because neither company bills for other service providers.

Note:

Sub SAs are needed if you subcategorize your charges. The above example shows sub SAs being used when a company provides billing service for another company. Sub SAs are also used when you subcategorize your charges - each sub SA contains the rate associated with each subcategory.