Elisa L. here from Omaha. OPPD just completed a major AMI system upgrade in December and we're finding multiplier errors all over the place. Got three different clients showing weird billing patterns in January - one account that normally runs 45,000 kWh suddenly billed for 180,000 kWh, another went from 22,000 down to 5,500. Looks like they may have scrambled multiplier factors during the system migration. Anyone else dealing with post-upgrade billing chaos? What's the best way to approach the utility when it's clearly a systemic problem?
AMI programming errors after system upgrade
Donna L. in Minneapolis here. We went through this exact scenario with Xcel Energy after their AMI upgrade two years ago. Turned out they had a software bug that randomly assigned multiplier values during the data migration. Took them six weeks to identify all affected accounts. The key is to document every anomaly you find and push for a comprehensive system audit rather than trying to fix accounts one by one. Do you have contact information for other utility auditors in the OPPD territory?
Donna, yes I know at least four other auditors working OPPD accounts. I'll reach out and see what they're finding. The 180,000 kWh account is particularly obvious - that would be like a 600% increase in usage with no operational changes. Customer is furious because it generated a massive bill on Schedule LGS rate. Elisa L.
Pam L. from St. Louis. Dealt with similar issues when Ameren did their system upgrade. What worked for us was getting multiple auditors to coordinate and present OPPD with a comprehensive list of problematic accounts all at once. Made it harder for them to claim these were isolated incidents. Also, check if they changed any of the tariff rate codes during the upgrade - sometimes the multiplier is right but they moved accounts to wrong rate schedules.
This is a classic post-upgrade scenario that we've seen repeatedly across different utilities implementing new AMI systems. Randy Dawson here. Elisa, I strongly recommend coordinating with other local auditors as Donna and Pam suggested. Document every anomalous account with before/after consumption data and rate impacts. OPPD will be much more responsive to a systematic presentation of the problem rather than individual account complaints. Also check if they have a dedicated AMI support team versus trying to work through regular customer service - you'll get much better technical responses.
Randy, great point about the dedicated AMI team. I found their contact info and they're much more knowledgeable than regular customer service. Spoke with their lead technician yesterday and he admitted they're aware of 'some data migration issues' affecting multipliers. They're working on a system-wide audit but couldn't give me a timeline. At least they're acknowledging the problem now. Elisa L.
Cheryl B. here from Indianapolis. Just curious Elisa - are these errors showing up consistently across specific meter types or rate schedules? When AES had similar issues, we found that certain CT ratios were more affected than others. Might help OPPD narrow down their search if you can identify patterns in the affected accounts.
Cheryl, good question. Looking at my notes, seems like accounts with 400:1 and 800:1 CT ratios are most affected, and mostly on Schedule LGS and LPS rates. Haven't seen issues on smaller accounts yet. I'll share this pattern with OPPD's AMI team - might help them focus their audit efforts. Thanks for the suggestion. Elisa L.