Regional Grid Operator
How a disciplined disconnect program eliminated $615,000 in annualized telecom spend and recovered billing on services that should have stopped charging, with momentum building from the very first six months of engagement.
Savings
Savings
Recovered
Verified
A client that manages the electric grid of the central United States, working closely with power companies and operating numerous redundant services at power-related locations across the country. Reliability requirements meant the client carried a complex inventory of overlapping circuits and legacy services, some still essential, others quietly obsolete.
Unclear inventory and unresolved billing leakage
The client engaged Valicom to identify ongoing billing errors and uncover unneeded telecom services that could be disconnected to reduce cost across 284 power-related locations. With 3,690 total services spanning active and legacy circuits, the client lacked clear visibility into which were still required, resulting in unnecessary spend and continued billing in cases where prior disconnect requests had never been honored by the carrier.
Without disciplined disconnect validation, telecom invoices were quietly leaking budget month after month on services no one used.
Audit, disconnect, and verify line by line
Valicom performed a detailed audit of the client's telecom environment, working through 3,690 total services with three goals: confirm what was actually needed, terminate what wasn't, and verify that every disconnected service stopped billing.
- Billing & Service Review. Identified circuits billing at unusually high rates that appeared out of contract, then consulted with stakeholders to validate business need. Several circuits were determined to be no longer required, and formal disconnect requests were submitted.
- Disconnect Validation & Dispute Resolution. During the disconnect process, Valicom discovered circuits that continued to bill despite prior disconnect requests from the client, and filed a billing dispute to correct the error and recover charges.
- POTS Line Optimization. At the client's request, built a comprehensive inventory of every actively billing POTS line and delivered a detailed report for review, supporting an initiative to retire legacy services made obsolete by advancing technology. Disconnect requests were submitted for all unneeded lines identified.
- Ongoing Invoice Verification. Reviewed each subsequent invoice to confirm every disconnected circuit and POTS line fully ceased billing, preventing recurring leakage.
Submitting a disconnect request is the easy part. Carriers routinely continue billing for services that should have been terminated, and the charges only end when someone catches them. Valicom's post-disconnect invoice verification closes that gap and protects the savings the client has already earned.
Recurring savings backed by line-by-line verification
Across the three-year engagement, the program produced both immediate credit recovery and large recurring savings, with 20% of ongoing savings implemented in the first six months and each disconnect verified against subsequent invoices to prevent silent re-billing.
| Outcome | Impact | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit disconnect savings | $238,000 / yr | Annualized savings from disconnecting unneeded circuits |
| POTS line savings | $377,000 / yr | Annualized savings from disconnecting unneeded POTS lines |
| Leakage credit recovered | $18,000 | One-time credit for circuit billing after prior disconnect request |
| Disconnect verification | 100% | Every disconnected circuit and POTS line confirmed off invoice |
| Time to first 20% of savings | 6 Months | Initial wave of ongoing savings live in the first six months |
| Total annualized savings | $615,000 | Combined recurring savings across circuits and POTS |
"Joe and the Valicom team are very professional and keep circuit inventory up to date. Responses are timely and effective, and deadlines are met."
Network Operations Manager, Regional Grid Operator
Eliminated waste, corrected errors, ongoing protection
Through proactive auditing, disciplined disconnect management, and rigorous invoice validation, Valicom helped the client eliminate unnecessary telecom spend and correct billing errors that had previously gone unresolved across hundreds of power-related sites. The client now benefits from significant recurring savings, improved billing accuracy, and ongoing protection against service-related cost leakage.
Whether you want a targeted audit to uncover unneeded services and validate disconnect execution, or full TEM services to manage inventory, invoices, and ongoing carrier activity for you, Valicom scopes engagements to fit your environment. Contact [email protected] or (608) 274-3515 to explore audit and full-service TEM options.