Elmer R from Springfield, MO. City Utilities of Springfield account. Client runs a feed mill and one of their sub-meters has been reading zero for 12 months. Not estimated — literally zero consumption recorded. But the equipment on that circuit is running every day. The grain dryer alone pulls about 80 kW. Something is very wrong with this meter. The client has been paying only on the working meters and nobody noticed the dead one because the total bill still seemed reasonable — the other meters absorbed some of the base charges. But there is a significant unmetered load here.
Client billed on a dead meter — zero reads for a year
Elmer, a dead meter for 12 months is a significant issue for both sides. The client has been receiving unmetered electricity which the utility will want to recover, but the utility also failed to notice a zero-read meter for a full year which is a monitoring failure on their part. The resolution usually involves a negotiated rebilling that splits the difference. Request a meter test immediately — you need to confirm the meter is actually dead vs some other explanation.
I had a dead meter situation with OPPD in Omaha. Grain elevator sub-meter. OPPD wanted to back-bill for the full 8 months of zero reads based on the nameplate ratings of the connected equipment. We argued that equipment does not run at nameplate 24/7 and negotiated a rebilling based on historical usage from before the meter died. Ended up at about 60% of what OPPD originally demanded.
Ken, that is helpful. My concern is exactly that — CU Springfield will want to back-bill based on theoretical maximum load. But the grain dryer only runs during harvest season, maybe 4 months of the year. The rest of the time that circuit is mostly lighting and ventilation. So the back-bill should reflect seasonal usage not a flat annual load.
Elmer, check the CU Springfield tariff for their back-billing provisions on unmetered service. Some municipal utilities have specific language limiting how far back they can bill for metering failures. Kansas City Power & Light limits it to 6 months. Your muni utility might have something similar.
Floyd, good call. I pulled the tariff and CU Springfield limits back-billing for meter failure to the lesser of 6 months or the period of failure. Since the meter has been dead for 12 months, they can only back-bill for 6. That cuts the exposure in half right there. And we can argue the seasonal usage pattern for the 6 months they do bill.
Update for the thread: CU Springfield tested the meter — confirmed dead. CT connection had corroded. They replaced it and we negotiated the back-bill at 6 months using the historical seasonal usage pattern. Client owes about $4,200 in back charges, which is roughly a third of what the utility initially proposed. Not a refund case but definitely saved the client from a much bigger bill. Sometimes the value is in defense, not offense.