Can an Electric Meter simply malfunction?
Comments
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Hi My electronic meter did the same thing in December, my normal usage is around 40 units a month, (I work away from home) but it shot up 7200 in two weeks in december BG asked if I had left somthing on at home!0
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rosscobley wrote: »With a gas meter its very very hard to test.
The only way it can be tested is to be removed and sent away to be taken apart and tested. that meter can never be used again then and if it is found to be correct you will be charged for the cost of the meter and the job
wouldn't they just test it at site by putting another meter in series with it?
also gas meters can be readily tested if the testing company has access to a 'meter prover' rig.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_meter_prover0 -
I am probably moving out of my apartment in the middle of a lease to escape my electric meter problem. My meter is running about 20 times faster than the ones near it in my apartment building. I even took a video of it with my phone. Rather than running up thousands of dollars in charges, I am renting a motel room and will come back during the day to get things here and there. Fortunately the building is heated centrally so if this is a prolonged problem I will be able to be in the apartment during the day.
The electric company first stated they would send someone to see the meter within 2 to 3 business days and now when I called yesterday on the 3rd day it is 7 to 14 days. I called the manager of the building and told her that I was moving out. I just got a great new roommate but I will find him a place as well. It will be cheaper than what the electric bill is going to be. It ran up 3 to 6 months of the power I generally use in only 3 days!
I don't trust the power company at all. I have already had 3 months of big bills, and I am outta here in a day or two. The management of my building is stepping in to assist me after I told them I was moving out. They did not call an electrician the day I asked but said they were waiting for the electric company to come. I blasted them because I have lived in the building over 5 years and have paid them well over $100,000 in rent. No more! If this does not pan out well I will stay as long as my security deposit covers.
I intend to ask if I can stay in one of their empty apartments before leaving. But I want to see the meter first!!! This is an outrageous experience. I have not done anything different and this happens. If it weren't for the money it might be funny - but it is not funny.0 -
Hi KazNewbieMoneysaver - Faults can and do occur in wiring circuits and can consume a lot of power over a period - I know,I had one - and it could be a that fault was created with the re-furbishment work
Turn off absolutely every thing and then watch the meter closely for a while, if there is any movement and you have an 'Old Style' fuse box, pull all the fuses and then replace them one at a time and if one then starts to register power on the meter, on the circuit supplied by this fuse check that you have really switched every thing off.
If you have and it's a power circiut, remove every plug from the wall socket for each appliance on that is on that circuit, one by one. - If the meter stops when a particular plug is removed it's likely you have a faulty appliance, or a faulty socket.
If the fuse is supplying a Lighting circuit, it's not really possible to do further checks yourself, but in either case you need to call in an Electrician
Hi flossie_splodge As Cardew has pointed out, excessive Gas bills can be caused by a Metric meter, marked M3 on the front, being charged as an Imperial meter which is marked Ft3 on the front
To check, see how the meter is marked and then on a bill look at the line which states how many meter meter units were consumed and the number of Kwh it was converted to for chargeing.
Divide the Kwh figure into the Units consumed figure - If the answer is appx.11 you are being charged for a Metric meter, if the answer is appx.31 you are being charged for an Imerial meter - If the chargeing method doesn't match the meters face plate, GET ONTO THE SUPPLIER IMMEDIATELY0 -
Something I would add. I've always heard that meters rarely "speed" but I've found more recently that it happens more often than I was told over the years.
Not sure if all Suppliers are charging for a Standard Load Test that proves nothing thesedays so if you can do a self test, it's worth it first.
The SLT will measure the speed to see if it falls within an agreed industry tolerance. A lot do, but it's more common than rare that they fail this test from what I've been seeing. Perhaps a dip in standards over the years???:rotfl: It's better to live 1 year as a tiger than a lifetime as a worm...but then, whoever heard of a wormskin rug!!!:rotfl:0 -
wouldn't they just test it at site by putting another meter in series with it?
Thats what fitting a check meter entails. I have yet to fit a check meter and go back to it and find any significant discrepancy between the two....thats not to say that at some point in the future a faulty meter will be found.
Best one I seen was a check meter that had been fitted by the customers previous supplier and left there for 4-5 years! Did the sums and found that the difference between the two was 100 units...sounds like a lot, but when you take into account that over 10,000 units had been consumed then the discrepancy was minimal.
Normally they stay in for 2-3 weeks, have yet to see one where the difference is more than 1 unit in that time.0 -
In reply to this, I know its some time later but when you google you get this posting.
My meter is running fast, I ordered the meter check engineer £70, he confirmed this to be the case.
I bought an owl meter, a simple device which is accurate enough to diagnose whether your meter is accurate or not.
If you are suspicious get one, could be the best £40 you ever spend.
Its true to say my company disbelived me, made this difficult and made me prove the meter was wrong. And now we are waiting for a new meter so we can agree my refund but that is proving very difficult.0 -
greektortoise wrote: »In reply to this, I know its some time later but when you google you get this posting.
My meter is running fast, I ordered the meter check engineer £70, he confirmed this to be the case.
I bought an owl meter, a simple device which is accurate enough to diagnose whether your meter is accurate or not.
If you are suspicious get one, could be the best £40 you ever spend.
Its true to say my company disbelived me, made this difficult and made me prove the meter was wrong. And now we are waiting for a new meter so we can agree my refund but that is proving very difficult.
Yes, it is. They will want to take the out of tolerance value and multiply it by the consumption average. However, what day did it start? It can be difficult to spot so do it yourself to check what they do. Ask them to fully document their calculation. What about season differences? If they do one average, it may not cover your heavier/lighter periods properly as it requires a calculation for each season based on a difference average. Even doing master averages won't work with this as accurately as seperate seasonal calculations will.
Question though. Why didn't the engineer doing the test, change the meter? He is supposed to.:rotfl: It's better to live 1 year as a tiger than a lifetime as a worm...but then, whoever heard of a wormskin rug!!!:rotfl:0 -
Electric meters are commonly found stopped, I ve found 3 this week, one in Doncasters Frenchgate shopping centre has been blank for 4 years! shop owner is very happy about it.
The OP is faced with a bit of a gamble with approx £70. if he gets the engineer out and its found to be OK thats what you will pay, free if its faulty. the choice is yours0
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