I'm pulling my hair out over this one. PPL Electric here in Pennsylvania is doing a massive AMI rollout, and I'm seeing huge discrepancies between the final readings on removed mechanical meters and the starting readings on the new smart meters. Had one client where the old GE I-70 mechanical meter final read was 847,293 kWh, but the new Landis+Gyr AMI meter started at 850,450 kWh - a 3,157 kWh difference worth about $1,200 at their Schedule GP rate. PPL claims this is 'normal calibration variance' but that's ridiculous. Anyone else seeing these handoff problems during AMI deployments?
Mechanical meter final reads vs AMI start reads - huge discrepancies
Sylvia, I've seen the exact same issue with Idaho Power's smart meter rollout. The disconnect between final mechanical and initial AMI reads is way beyond normal meter tolerance. Had a case where the difference was over 5,000 kWh - the utility tried to bill the customer for 'unregistered usage' claiming the old meter was running slow. Fought it for months and finally got them to admit the AMI meter was initialized with the wrong baseline reading. Make sure you're getting copies of both the mechanical meter pull ticket and the AMI installation worksheet. The numbers should match within a few kWh.
Warren's advice about documentation is spot-on. I've been dealing with similar issues during Entergy's AMI rollout here in Louisiana. The problem isn't just meter accuracy - it's sloppy installation procedures. Crews are supposed to record the final mechanical reading, install the AMI meter, then initialize it with that same reading. But they're rushing through installs and making transcription errors or not following proper startup procedures. Had one case where they installed the smart meter upside down and it started counting backwards! Always demand to see the actual installation paperwork, not just the billing system records.
Juan makes a great point about installation quality. Here in Arkansas, Entergy's AMI contractor crews were clearly undertrained. I documented multiple cases where smart meters were installed with wrong CT ratios, incorrect multipliers, or baseline readings that didn't match the removed mechanical meters. The worst case was a manufacturing plant where they set the AMI meter to start at zero instead of the mechanical meter's final reading of 2.3 million kWh. Took 6 months to get that billing mess straightened out. These installation errors create audit nightmares that can take years to resolve.
Helen's manufacturing plant example is exactly why I always recommend customers be present during AMI installations when possible. Here in Indianapolis, Duke Energy has been pretty good about their rollout procedures, but I still caught an installation crew trying to initialize a smart meter at zero reading instead of carrying forward the 680,000 kWh from the removed mechanical. When I questioned it, they claimed it was 'easier for the billing system' - complete nonsense. The key is getting that installation documentation before the old meter disappears. Once it's gone, you're relying on the utility's word about what the final reading was.
This whole thread confirms what I've been seeing with Georgia Power's AMI deployment. The handoff between mechanical and smart meters is the weak link in the whole system. Even when the installation crew does everything right, there can be problems with how the utility's billing system processes the meter change. Had a client where the final mechanical read and initial AMI read matched perfectly on the field paperwork, but the billing system created a 4,000 kWh 'adjustment' because it couldn't handle the meter serial number change. Sometimes the technology creates more problems than it solves. At least with all-mechanical systems, meter changes were straightforward!