News
Attorney General says reports of erratic CL&P meters persist
By Attorney General's office
Aug 25, 2008 - 12:35:17 PM

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today announced that he has formally requested that the Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) reopen its investigative proceeding into Connecticut Light & Power Company (CL&P) meters.

More than a year after Blumenthal asked the DPUC to investigate erratic meters -- recording intermittent and inexplicable spikes in usage – consumers continue to report erratic meters, raising continuing questions about meter accuracy.

Preliminary reports by an independent meter testing company appointed by the DPUC, Austin International, revealed an error rate of 1.5 percent, roughly three times the acceptable level.

In a letter to DPUC Acting Executive Secretary Nicholas Neeley, Blumenthal said the DPUC should reopen its investigative proceeding to determine why customers appear to continue to experience this problem, what steps CL&P has taken since it first learned of the erratic meters in 2002, and whether those steps are sufficient or can be improved.

“Despite CL&P’s supposed corrective action, consumer complaints about erratic and erroneous meters -- as well as inconsistent response by CL&P -- continue all too commonly,” Blumenthal said. “These persistent problems demand a reopened and reinvigorated investigative proceeding into the accuracy of CL&P meters, as well as its consumer service. My office is ready to take investigative steps with the DPUC to determine what CL&P has done to address meter accuracy, and whether more is necessary.”

To address the CL&P meter problem, the DPUC agreed last year with Blumenthal’s suggestion that “usage patterns from the old meter and new meter should be obtained and analyzed to confirm that both meters measure electricity accurately.”

Specifically, the DPUC required that CL&P review a one-year usage pattern prior to and following a customer requested meter test for all requested meter tests between Aug. 22, 2007 and Aug. 21, 2008. According to the DPUC order, the results of the analysis of the usage patterns and the reason for the change in usage shall be provided to the customer and the DPUC if the usage patterns differ by more than 15 percent.

Blumenthal, as part of his request to reopen an investigative proceeding, said the DPUC should carefully review and analyze CL&P’s compliance with this order.

Blumenthal said the DPUC should also seek additional information including analyses where usage patterns between old and new meters differ by no more than 5 percent, instead of the 15 percent differential set forth in its order.

© Copyright by NorwalkPlus.com