This is a weird one. Jacksonville strip mall on JEA. Meter got buried during landscaping in 2012. Meter reader kept marking "unable to locate" and JEA kept estimating. They never sent anyone to actually look for it until customer complained about high bills in late 2014. Found the meter under 3 feet of dirt and mulch. Two years of estimates!
JEA meter reader couldn't find the meter for 2 years
That's insane. Dominion Energy here in Charleston has GPS coordinates for every meter. If they can't find one, they send a supervisor with metal detector. How did JEA let this go for 2 years?
Avista had a similar case in Spokane. Meter got covered by a new deck. Took 8 months to find it. Customer got credited for over-estimates during that period.
JEA is crediting back some of the catch-up billing. Client is fighting the rest. Their argument is that reasonable efforts weren't made to locate the meter. I tend to agree.
Entergy Mississippi had meter readers who would mark "no access" instead of actually looking. Got caught in an audit. Your client should request JEA's meter reading logs and photos if available.
Document the utility's meter reading procedures and whether they were followed. Most tariffs require "reasonable efforts" to obtain actual reads. Burying a meter under mulch doesn't excuse 2 years of estimates without investigation.