Anyone else dealing with issues from Dominion Energy's AMI rollout in South Carolina? I've got three commercial clients showing impossible usage spikes after meter replacement. One restaurant went from 15,000 kWh monthly to 45,000 kWh overnight with no operational changes. Dominion claims the old mechanical meters were "running slow" but the increases are mathematically impossible. The new Sensus meters seem to have calibration issues or they're double-counting somehow. Has anyone successfully challenged AMI accuracy?
Dominion's new AMI system producing wildly inaccurate reads
Marcus, I'm seeing similar issues here in Tennessee, though with different utilities. The problem with AMI challenges is utilities hide behind "improved accuracy" claims. You need to demand meter testing under PSC witness. In Tennessee, customers have the right to request meter accuracy tests, and if the meter tests outside tolerance, the utility pays for corrections AND the test. South Carolina should have similar rules. Also pull interval data - sometimes you can prove double-counting by analyzing 15-minute intervals.
We've had this exact issue with PG&E's SmartMeter deployment in California. The Sensus meters have known firmware bugs that cause interval data corruption. Marcus, request the raw interval data files, not just the billing summaries. Look for impossible usage spikes (like 200 kW demand jumps in single intervals) or negative usage readings. If you find data anomalies, that's proof of meter malfunction. CPUC has ruled in customers' favor when we've provided this type of evidence.
Arkansas had massive problems with Entergy's AMI rollout. The key was organizing multiple customers with similar issues. Individual complaints get dismissed, but when 50+ customers show the same Sensus meter problems, utilities pay attention. Marcus, try to find other businesses in your area with post-AMI usage spikes. Class action approach works better than isolated cases. Also, some of these meters have cellular communication issues that cause duplicate transmissions - that could explain the double-counting.
Down here in Alabama, we proved AMI meter errors by comparing 15-minute interval data to the actual equipment cycling schedules. If a restaurant's HVAC system cycles every 20 minutes but the meter shows constant 100% load, that's impossible. Marcus, get your clients' equipment manuals and compare rated power draws to meter readings. A 5-ton HVAC unit can't draw 15 kW continuously - when meters show that, you've got calibration problems. Alabama Power actually replaced an entire neighborhood of faulty Sensus meters after we provided this analysis.
Great suggestions everyone. I've requested interval data for all three clients and found exactly what Pete described - impossible demand spikes that don't match equipment operation. One meter shows 85 kW demand at 3 AM when the restaurant is closed and only has minimal lighting and refrigeration (maybe 8 kW actual). Dominion's response was "the old meter was inaccurate" but 1000% usage increases aren't possible. Filing PSC complaints this week and looking for other affected customers in the Columbia area.
Marcus, also check the meter multiplier settings. We had a case in Texas where Oncor installed AMI meters but forgot to update the multiplier in their billing system. Customer was getting billed for transformer-level usage instead of premise-level. Simple fix once we caught it, but it took months to identify. The interval data will show if this is happening - usage patterns will look normal but scaled up by the wrong multiplier factor.
Wisconsin had similar Sensus meter issues with WE Energies. The solution was demanding on-site meter accuracy testing with portable standards. Marcus, don't let Dominion just swap the meter and claim it's fixed. Insist on field testing the questionable meters before removal. If they're truly accurate, the test will prove it. If not, you have evidence of systematic problems. We got three years of billing corrections after proving a batch of Sensus meters were reading 40% high due to manufacturing defects.