Just discovered Portland General Electric has been billing my industrial client with a 400X multiplier instead of 40X for the past 14 months. The meter reader apparently keyed it wrong in the system after a meter changeout. Client has been paying roughly $6,300/month instead of $630/month. Total overbill is about $89,000. PGE is claiming it's the customer's responsibility to notice billing errors. Anyone else dealt with multiplier errors this large? What's the best approach for recovery?
PGE meter reader keyed wrong multiplier - $89k overbill
Kira, that's insane. Here in West Virginia with AEP, we had a 10X vs 100X error that was only $12k but AEP immediately refunded the full amount. A meter multiplier error is 100% the utility's fault - they can't shift responsibility to the customer for their data entry mistakes. I'd demand full refund plus interest. Document that the customer paid every bill as presented and had no reason to suspect an error.
We had Consumers Energy in Michigan try the same "customer should have noticed" argument on a CT ratio error. The PUC shut that down fast. Utilities have professional obligation to bill correctly. Your client was paying what they were told to pay. Push for full refund, interest, and maybe even damages for the cash flow impact on their business. $89k is serious money for most companies.
Similar thing happened with Chugach Electric here in Alaska - wrong multiplier after meter upgrade resulted in $23k overbill over 8 months. They initially pushed back but eventually refunded everything plus 6% interest when we threatened a complaint. The key was showing the error originated from their work order during the meter changeout. Get copies of all the installation paperwork and prove the error was on their end.