Tamara E from Chattanooga, TN. Working with a restaurant client on EPB (Electric Power Board of Chattanooga). They upgraded to smart meters two years ago but my client is still getting estimated reads about every third month. EPB says the meter is communicating intermittently. The bill shows EST next to the reading on estimated months. How can a smart meter still produce estimates? I thought the whole point was eliminating this problem.
Smart meter still producing estimated reads — why
Happens more than you would think. Smart meters communicate via mesh network or cellular and both can have dead spots. If the meter cannot phone home during the read window, the system generates an estimate. Brick buildings, metal siding, underground meter rooms — all can block the signal. EPB should be able to check the signal strength at the meter location.
I have seen this with NES meters in Nashville too. Sometimes it is not the meter itself but the collector node that aggregates data from multiple meters in the area. If that node goes down, every meter feeding into it produces estimates until it is repaired. Ask EPB if other meters in the same area are having the same problem.
Good thought, Ed. I called EPB and they confirmed the collector for that block has been flagged for replacement. They said it has been on the list for 6 months. Meanwhile my client keeps getting estimated bills every third month when the signal drops.
Six months waiting for a collector replacement is unacceptable. EPB is a municipal utility so they are not under PUC jurisdiction, but they still have a customer service obligation. I would escalate to their general manager. Municipal utilities are politically accountable in ways that IOUs are not — elected boards do not like complaints.
Randy that is a great point. EPB is governed by a board appointed by the Chattanooga mayor. I will help my client draft a formal complaint to the board. In the meantime, how should I handle the estimated months for the audit? Just flag them and wait for actual data?
Tamara, if the smart meter is storing data locally even when it cannot transmit, EPB should be able to do a manual download from the meter itself. They send a tech with a handheld reader, pull the stored interval data directly from the meter, and use that to correct the estimated bills. I had Appalachian Power do this for a client in Greenville and it worked perfectly.
Vernon that is exactly what I needed to hear. I will request a manual data download for all the estimated months. If the data is in the meter, there is no excuse for billing estimates. Thank you all — this gives me a clear path forward.
Good luck Tamara. One more thing — make sure the restaurant is not being hit with estimated demand charges on those months. Restaurants have very peaky demand profiles from kitchen equipment and the estimates rarely capture the actual peaks accurately. Could be money either way.