Got a doozy here in Cincinnati. Duke Energy meter reader recorded a multiplier of 40 instead of 4 on a CT-rated meter for a small manufacturing plant. This went on for 6 months before anyone noticed. Client's bills went from $1,200/month to $12,000/month. The client thought they had a massive equipment failure and called in electricians, HVAC techs, you name it. Spent $8,000 on diagnostics before calling me. Anyone else seen multiplier errors this bad?
Duke Energy meter reader put down wrong multiplier - 10x overbilling
Cecilia, that's horrible! Xcel Energy did something similar here in Minneapolis on a 400A service. They had the CT ratio as 400:5 but billed it as 4000:5. Three months at 10x the actual usage - $28,000 error! The worst part was their customer service kept insisting the meter was reading correctly. I had to get an independent meter test to prove the error. These companies need better training for their meter readers.
Idaho Power made a similar mistake but went the other way - recorded multiplier as 1 instead of 10. Client got 10 months of bills at 1/10th actual usage. When they finally caught it, they wanted to bill the full amount plus penalties! I had to argue that their error shouldn't penalize the customer. Eventually got them to spread the back-billing over 12 months with no penalties.
Warren, at least your client got cheap power for a while! Mine was getting slaughtered. Duke initially refused to admit error, saying their meter reading was "accurate as recorded." I had to bring in a PE to certify the CT installation and ratios. Cost $1,200 for the engineering report but got full refund of $58,000 in overbilling. Duke also covered my engineering costs after threatening PUC complaint.
Alabama Power did this to a textile mill in Huntsville - CT multiplier error for 8 months. $45,000 overbill. The scary part is how long these errors can go unnoticed. Most customers just assume their usage went up. I've started doing annual meter audits for my larger C&I clients. Check the CT ratios, meter constants, rate schedules - everything. Found errors on about 15% of the accounts I've audited.
NV Energy here in Vegas had a meter tech transpose digits on a demand multiplier. Instead of 120:5, they entered 210:5. Client's demand charges went from $400/month to $680/month for 14 months. $3,920 error that took 6 months to resolve. The utility's response? "Our records show the meter was read as recorded." I had to physically walk them out to the meter and show them their own CT nameplate!
PPL here in Pennsylvania has been having issues with new digital meter installations. Their techs aren't programming the multipliers correctly. I've found 4 errors in the last 6 months - all on businesses that upgraded their services. The meters read correctly but the billing system multiplies wrong. Pro tip: always verify multipliers within 60 days of any meter change or service upgrade.
Westar (now Evergy) in Kansas made a multiplier error that went the other direction - customer was underbilled by $15,000 over 18 months. When they discovered it, they wanted immediate payment plus interest! I argued that their billing error shouldn't create a hardship for the customer. Negotiated a 24-month payment plan with no interest. Always document these negotiations - utilities will try to collect aggressively.
Black Hills Energy here in South Dakota had a systematic problem with CT multipliers on their new AMI meters. Found errors on 12 different commercial accounts over 6 months. They finally admitted to a programming issue in their meter data management system. Got a class-action settlement that covered all affected customers. Sometimes these aren't isolated incidents - watch for patterns across multiple accounts.