Quetion for all you electrician kind of guys

[LBrown59]

*I've been told that the meters do not use any energy. However, the only thing hooked up is the utility company's equipment and all of it was installed by them. Call my cynical, but throw in an extra 3.8 turns per hour on every single meter with every single customer and 2*I'm seeing a HUGE amount of additional income to the utility company through less than above board methods.

1*I have been too.
2*I couldn't agree more.

The electric company charges you for the electricity it takes to run the meter.

Point is the meter should not be running when no electric is being used.

When our pole transformer went bad, the meter was not moving, but I agree with Ductape - the company
charges you for the power to measure your consumption.

BB BU BUT There isn't any valid consumption for the meater to measure when there is nothing electrical connected to the meter. [/quote]

 

[ultrarunner]

I had to install a meter for my sprinkler timer and one 12 watt outdoor photo-electric driveway light.

Meter has been in for 5 years and only registered a few kilowatts... several months at a time the usage shows ZERO even though there is the 12 watt light and Lawn Genie Sprinkler Timer...

To make a long story short... the property is a duplex and the tenant complained to the city the driveway was too dark and city had me install a light... then she complained I was using her electricity to light the light... I offered to pay her and the city sided with her that it's a common area light and it's my responsibility...

Anyway, I pulled a permit after showing the building the department why... they got a laugh after they determined I was trying to add another unit...

Standby Meter fee is about $6 per month and that is what I'm charged...

 

[kenstrac]

Do you have a smart meter thats a meter that the power co. does not come out to read its done at the office and sends a signal back to them and if you loose power they know in a matter of minutes and check for a problem and correct it.A small price to pay for not loosing electricity,heat ,fridge etc.
If you have a large service it will have current transformers and I have seen those turn a slight amount with the power off.

 

[Dargo]

Do you have a smart meter thats a meter that the power co. does not come out to read its done at the office and sends a signal back to them and if you loose power they know in a matter of minutes and check for a problem and correct it.A small price to pay for not loosing electricity,heat ,fridge etc.
If you have a large service it will have current transformers and I have seen those turn a slight amount with the power off.

I hate to sound a dumb as I look, but I don't know what kind of meter it is other than it says it's made by GE and has that glass cover over the meter sort of like the bottom half of a gallon can of paint, if the can was glass. Generally I do only pay the minimum charge because I don't use much there right now. My main thought is that everybody, at least in my area, is getting overcharged for their electric power due to these meters not being correct.

I did call my utility company and that was frustrating to say the least. The woman on the phone kept telling me that she's sure that I'm just forgetting about some clock or TV being plugged in somewhere that I forgot about. She seemed unable to grasp the fact that, without any doubt, nothing is hooked up to the service and that I've even pulled the 200 amp breaker that would have to be in place for anything to receive power.

Personally, I now honestly think that the utility company intentionally has their meters running just that little bit extra to charge everyone on their entire grid just a bit more each month. No one place really notices the extra amount, there seems to be no way to prove what they are doing, and with a million or two meters showing a bit of "extra" usage the additional profit is quite substantial. When they won't send someone to check it and the customer service person 'assures' me that I have something plugged in (It's not a freaking house!!) and promptly dismisses me, I smell a rat. Now the real question; is there anything that can be done about it? Maybe it only amounts to an extra $3 to $5 a month on a person's bill. Still, it seems like this monopoly of a service is completely free to overcharge if they choose with no possible repercussions.

Heck, since GE made the meter and their stock is in the toilet, maybe they are in cahoots with the utility company to regain some lost capital.

 

[kenstrac]

My meter is also a GE it looks like a regular meter it has a little flashing diode that you can not see in the daylight and the meter reader never comes to the house.That's what they call a smart meter.

 

[ultrarunner]

In CA you could always file a complaint with the Public Utilities Commission... or start the process.

Had a problem with the water company once and was not getting anywhere over a meter issue... I said it was wrong and they replaced it... but it was still wrong.

I met the supervisor at his office to verify nothing could be done to resolve the issue and that I had exhausted all my options... he said yes that nothing more could be done...

I took out a complaint form and started filling it out in the waiting area and asked the clerk several questions to make sure I was filling it out accurately... when she didn't know the answers, I asked her to call someone that did... my problem was magically resolved that day by the operations director... imagine that?

Seems the first one that had been there 50 plus years just wore out and the replacement was defective...

In another life I was an arbitrator of consumer disputes... always be polite, verify the information and jot down names and dates before escalating to the next level... and be persistent!

 

[LBrown59]

I did call my utility company and that was frustrating to say the least. The woman on the phone kept telling me that she's sure that I'm just forgetting about some clock or TV being plugged in somewhere that I forgot about. *She seemed unable to grasp the fact that, without any doubt, nothing is hooked up to the service and that I've even pulled the 200 amp breaker that would have to be in place for anything to receive power.

*But she did work for the power co. didn't she?
That makes her automatically know more about it than you do don't Ya know?

 

[jayste]

I'd try a few more attempts to the power company. If they don't seem too interested maybe the TV station reporter would. Especially if they suspect this is being done to a lot of people.

Jay

 

[MossRoad]

Here, read the last letter on this page...
Ask Mr. Electricity: Questions about Electric Meters

 

[dmccarty]

Nice link. The guy needs a haircut though! His hair looks like what happens to a Looney Tune character who sticks his finger in the electrical outlet.

Later,
Dan