Dave C. in Columbus GA. Georgia Power swapped out an old mechanical meter for new AMI unit last month. The bills have tripled from around $8,500 to $24,000. I'm pretty sure they programmed the wrong multiplier but they're claiming everything is correct. Old meter was working fine with 150:1 CTs for over 10 years. How do I prove they screwed up the programming?
AMI Programming Error After Meter Swap - Georgia Power
Manny G. from Miami - Dave, first thing is get them to test the actual CT ratios with a meter. FPL tried to tell me the same thing until I demanded they verify the CT installation matched their billing system. Turned out they had 300:1 CTs programmed as 150:1 multiplier.
Randy Dawson here. Dave, you need to request copies of the old meter's final readings and compare to the new meter's initial readings. If there's a huge jump in consumption per day with no load changes, that's evidence of programming error. Also ask for the CT test reports from the installation. Georgia Power should have records showing CT ratios were verified during the swap. The Georgia PSC has been pretty good about investigating multiplier errors when customers can show before/after usage patterns that don't make sense.
Randy thanks for the advice. I pulled 12 months of bills before the meter change and the usage was very consistent around 85,000 kWh per month. New meter is showing 255,000 kWh which is exactly 3x higher. That can't be coincidence. Filing complaint with Georgia PSC this week.
Bill T. in St. Louis - Dave that 3x multiplier is a dead giveaway. I had Ameren try the same thing where they programmed 50:1 instead of 150:1 after a meter upgrade. The math was so obvious even their own technician admitted the error when he came out to recheck.
Omar B. from Tucson here. TEP did similar programming error on our Schedule GS-3 account. Took 6 months to get resolved but we got full refund plus 18% interest. The key was showing historical load patterns that proved the new readings were impossible given our equipment.
Update - Georgia Power admitted the error and corrected the multiplier. They had it programmed at 450:1 instead of 150:1. Getting refund check for $31,000 next month. Thanks everyone for the help pushing back on their initial denial.