When you're hooking up meters in apartment blocks please make sure that you hook the right wires up to the right meter.
I've just discovered that in my apartment block, the labelling/positioning on the meters in the electrical room is totally random. I've been getting some random neighbour's bill for the last year, and someone has been getting mine.
I've no idea, if it's a simple swap - or if it's just totally random.
Oh, and try explaining to the power company that they've got the wrong meter.
'Hi, You're reading the wrong meter'.
'Your meter is serial# 123abc'
'That's the one that says it's mine. But it's not'.
'Yes it is'
'No. I think 234DEF is mine'
'That's someone else's'
'That's my point. You're matching the wrong meter to the wrong bill'
'But your meter is 123ABC'
'Then why, when I switch on every appliance in my flat dose 234DEF go berserk, and when I switch off the main switch in my panel 234DEF comes to a complete stop, while ABC123 keeps going?'
'Are you sure you're checking the right meter?'
'Umm. Perhaps you'd better send someone out'
Update:
Apparently there was a 'meter engineer' looking around the apartment block last week - spotted by an eagle eyed fellow resident (who, incidentally, also believes that they were getting someone else's electricity bill).
Turns out that the engineer was investigating 15 reports of suspected incorrect metering. Not only that, but he suggested that the meters had been incorrectly installed far too deep within the structure of teh building and were unable to pick up their radio time control signals used for charging on the discount rate (and switching on discount-rate only appliances like space heaters and water heaters) causing the heaters to operate at the wrong time, and making it difficult to set timers for laundry/drying/dishwashing to be done on the discount rate.
The managenet are aware of the problem - but are unable to do anything directly. It's the power company's responsiblity to read the right meter, and they can't help with that. However, they are considering paying for an electrician for a day, so that all residents could have their wiring/meters checked by a competent person, should they wish to.
I've just discovered that in my apartment block, the labelling/positioning on the meters in the electrical room is totally random. I've been getting some random neighbour's bill for the last year, and someone has been getting mine.
I've no idea, if it's a simple swap - or if it's just totally random.
Oh, and try explaining to the power company that they've got the wrong meter.
'Hi, You're reading the wrong meter'.
'Your meter is serial# 123abc'
'That's the one that says it's mine. But it's not'.
'Yes it is'
'No. I think 234DEF is mine'
'That's someone else's'
'That's my point. You're matching the wrong meter to the wrong bill'
'But your meter is 123ABC'
'Then why, when I switch on every appliance in my flat dose 234DEF go berserk, and when I switch off the main switch in my panel 234DEF comes to a complete stop, while ABC123 keeps going?'
'Are you sure you're checking the right meter?'
'Umm. Perhaps you'd better send someone out'
Update:
Apparently there was a 'meter engineer' looking around the apartment block last week - spotted by an eagle eyed fellow resident (who, incidentally, also believes that they were getting someone else's electricity bill).
Turns out that the engineer was investigating 15 reports of suspected incorrect metering. Not only that, but he suggested that the meters had been incorrectly installed far too deep within the structure of teh building and were unable to pick up their radio time control signals used for charging on the discount rate (and switching on discount-rate only appliances like space heaters and water heaters) causing the heaters to operate at the wrong time, and making it difficult to set timers for laundry/drying/dishwashing to be done on the discount rate.
The managenet are aware of the problem - but are unable to do anything directly. It's the power company's responsiblity to read the right meter, and they can't help with that. However, they are considering paying for an electrician for a day, so that all residents could have their wiring/meters checked by a competent person, should they wish to.
