Energy Consumers Edge aims to provide clear, reliable information about home energy use, utility costs, and energy-related choices. Accuracy matters, but mistakes can occur, sources can be revised, and energy information can change over time.
This policy explains how we intend to receive, investigate, and address concerns about our articles, data, and calculators. Our aim is to correct material errors transparently and make it easier for readers to understand changes that affect the meaning or usefulness of our content.
What Can Be Reported
We welcome reports about issues such as:
- Incorrect facts, figures, units, dates, or geographic descriptions.
- Misidentified sources, broken links, or information that no longer reflects the cited source.
- Outdated utility rates, program details, or eligibility information.
- Misleading assumptions or unclear limitations in an example or comparison.
- Calculator results that appear incorrect for the inputs provided.
- Missing or inaccurate attribution.
Different results do not always mean a calculator is wrong. Rates, operating conditions, rounding, and assumptions can vary. We nevertheless encourage readers to report results that need explanation or review.
How to Report an Issue
Please use the site’s contact page to send a correction request. To help us investigate, include:
- The address or title of the page or calculator.
- The statement, figure, or result you believe is incorrect.
- A short explanation of the concern.
- A reliable supporting source or worked calculation, if available.
For a calculator issue, please also include the inputs, units, result displayed, and result you expected, along with the date of your attempt when relevant. Do not include utility account numbers, full bills, or other sensitive personal information unless it is necessary and you have been given an appropriate way to share it.
How We Review Reports
We aim to assess credible reports against the relevant content, source documents, calculation method, and available evidence. For time-sensitive information, such as a utility tariff or incentive, we seek to check the relevant location and effective period as well as the reported figure.
Some issues can be resolved quickly; others require additional research, technical investigation, or clarification. We do not promise a fixed response or correction time. Where an issue cannot be verified, we may retain the content while seeking more information or make its uncertainty clearer.
We prioritize issues according to their potential effect on readers, including errors that could materially change a cost estimate, savings comparison, or safety-related explanation.
Corrections, Clarifications, and Updates
The way we describe a change depends on what happened:
- Correction: An inaccurate or misleading statement, figure, source, or result is fixed. For a material error, we aim to label the change as a correction and briefly explain what was wrong and when it was corrected.
- Clarification: Wording is made clearer when the original information was substantially accurate but could reasonably be misunderstood. If the original statement was factually wrong, we treat the change as a correction.
- Update: Content is revised to reflect a later development, newly available data, or changed rates or program rules. An update is not necessarily a correction of an earlier error.
- Minor edit: Spelling, formatting, or a link is adjusted without materially changing the meaning. These edits may be made without an individual notice.
When a material correction is needed, we aim to place a notice on the affected page or another visible location associated with it. A notice may identify the original error, the corrected information, and the date of the change. The level of detail will depend on the issue. The Associated Press
Calculator and Data Corrections
If a calculator, dataset, default value, or formula contains a material error, we aim to investigate the affected inputs and outputs, correct the problem, and check representative results after the change. Where appropriate, we may add a notice or temporarily disable the affected tool while the issue is reviewed.
We also aim to distinguish a corrected error from a change in an external source or model. A revised dataset, for example, may require an update even if the earlier page accurately reported the version available at the time.
Removal and Unresolved Issues
When content cannot be corrected promptly or may materially mislead readers, we may add a notice, restrict access, or remove it while it is reviewed. Where appropriate, we aim to explain a significant removal. Historical material and third-party links may require separate consideration of accuracy, rights, and context.
We appreciate reader feedback. A report helps us review an issue, but submitting one does not necessarily mean that a correction will be made. Any response or change will depend on the evidence available.