Ken from Omaha. Had an unusual situation where my client's in-house building management system recorded peak demand significantly lower than what the utility's meter showed for the same 15-minute interval. A 30 percent discrepancy. Client had been paying the higher utility figure for 14 months. How do you use client-side records to dispute utility meter readings?
Demand ratchet — client's own records contradicted the utility
Walt. Client-side data is admissible as supporting evidence but utilities generally give precedence to their own certified meters. The key is using the client data to raise enough doubt to trigger a formal meter test.
Mike D. File a formal meter accuracy complaint citing the discrepancy. The utility must then conduct a certified meter test. If the test shows the meter was out of tolerance the retroactive correction applies to the full disputed period.
The utility did test the meter after I filed. Turns out the current transformer secondary had a winding fault that caused intermittent over-recording. The meter was replaced and the correction covered 14 months.
Frank from Albuquerque. Fourteen months of 30 percent overcharge is a significant recovery. Good outcome and good persistence on filing the formal complaint.
The recovery was $22,800. Client was skeptical when I first raised the discrepancy because they assumed the utility's meter was always right. Now they are much more receptive to the idea that meters can fail.