Faulty Electricity meter

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SATTV

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#72665 30-Nov-2010 21:34

Hi All,

I am having a battle with mercury energy and would like to know if anyne else is having the same problems.

We had a remote meter installed about 3 years ago when we got a dog so the meter reader did not have to go to the back of our place.

Mercury sent us a letter back in June saying they wanted to change our meter to a new one that could be read remotely by radio signal ( rather than the small display at the front of the house )

This was done in Mid August, after the first reading it was higher than the same period last year but as we were at the tail end of winter it was possibly to be expected.

The following months have shown that the meter is reading 6 - 10 units per day higher than the same period last year.

We then had another letter from mercury saying there were some faulty meters ( they can turn off your power remotely if you don’t pay the bill ) they were inadvertently turning peoples power off apparently.

I enquired about the high usage before they removed the meter and was told that my old meter read low, I had had lots of visitors etc etc etc....

After missing two appointments the guy came to change the meter and he asked me if it was reading high, I said it was and he said he had changed lots of them as they were reading high.

Mercury have said that my meter "tested fine" but would come back to me with a full report within 7 days, 10 days later ......

has anyone else had this problem and what was the resolution.

Regards

John

I know enough to be dangerous

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#411499 1-Dec-2010 09:23

We swapped to a remote meter last 9 months ago. We have been through winter so its hard to compare. But generally yes my bills are higher - also told that the reason is they are more precise. Might have to go back and do some bill comparisons!!

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SATTV

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#411560 1-Dec-2010 11:48

I got Mercury to email me the last 5 years data that showed our three meters, I put it in excel and then graphed it and it was blantantly obvious it was a problem but they wont admit it.
They also tried the "old meter was probably reading low as it was old" but this did not wash as it was three years old and electronic not mechanical.

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gzt

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#411679 1-Dec-2010 17:30

I'm curious about this.

What are 6-10 units as a percentage of your total usage for a month?

Let's hope not but - in percentage terms this could fall within Mercury's 'acceptable' margin for error/accuracy range.

Have they told you what their acceptable meter accuracy is in percentage terms?

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leaplae

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#411691 1-Dec-2010 17:55

Im not sure if our metre is broken, but we often use 30Kwh a day (on average) , using mercury energy. Is this too high? Could our metre be broken?

gzt

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#411700 1-Dec-2010 18:33

Well, the NZ yearly household average is 11,410 kWh, and you might not be to far from there on a monthly basis.

Using an energy meter might help you sort out what is using the juice, mercury have a deal on one at the moment, but there are plenty of others around. Freitasm reviewed one of the best recently.

Also, just switching things on and off and reading the meter can help sort things out.

Can't tell if your meter is faulty tho. : )

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gzt

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#411717 1-Dec-2010 19:31

@SatTV, what is the make and model of your smart meter?

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SATTV

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#413085 5-Dec-2010 18:40

@GZT,
It is a Elster gREX D AMi Meter.
I doubt it is a smart meter, I dont know of any true smart meters or smart appliances in NZ.
Mercuray say the meter tested with spec, I still dont belve it, I will get more information when I have some time.

Cheers
John

I know enough to be dangerous

egcomplaints

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#429233 20-Jan-2011 15:36

The Electricity and Gas Complaints Commissioner (EGCC) offers a free, independent service for resolving complaints about electricity and gas companies that are members.
If you haven’t been able to resolve a complaint directly with the company, you can contact the EGCC to see if it can help you.
The EGCC can look in to almost any complaint about an electricity or gas company, including problems with bills, meters, disconnections and damage to property.
Call Free 0800 22 33 40 or visit the Electricity and Gas Complaints Commission website for more information.

freitasm

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#429234 20-Jan-2011 15:39

For the record, found the website at www.egcomplaints.co.nz.

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richms

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#430099 23-Jan-2011 05:04

Old meters did not deal well with non ohmic loads, like switching power supplies etc which only take current at the peak of the AC wave, they would average the current across more of the wave, so calculate it at a lower voltage than the peak.

This is about 30% out from what I have read, so a newer more accurate meter which bills correctly will cost you more to run anything with a switching power supply in it, like a computer, tv, inverter heatpump.

Hope you enjoyed your free ride on the old meter, but now you will be paying what is actually being used.

Richard rich.ms

gzt

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#430159 23-Jan-2011 12:24

I would not be surprised. Pretty old tech there. This is the first time I have seen it stated though. Can you point to any references, tests, or recall where you might have read it?

I do believe you - just looking for something I can link to or research further: )

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richms

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#430239 23-Jan-2011 17:21

One of the data sheets for a metering company had a comparison in it between older ones and their new ones with varying loads. Cant recall which one now, but it was to do with the sample rate of the chip to get more accuracy with the strange loads that are most of them now.

Richard rich.ms

webwat

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#430379 23-Jan-2011 23:39

I wonder if it has anything to do with the power factor of computers etc and other appliances with AC motors etc that have a certain amount of non-sinewave feedback, as opposed to pure resistive loads. I thought power meters were actually supposed to measure the average power.

Time to find a new industry!

Damager

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#430386 23-Jan-2011 23:51

richms: Old meters did not deal well with non ohmic loads, like switching power supplies etc which only take current at the peak of the AC wave, they would average the current across more of the wave, so calculate it at a lower voltage than the peak.

This is about 30% out from what I have read, so a newer more accurate meter which bills correctly will cost you more to run anything with a switching power supply in it, like a computer, tv, inverter heatpump.

Hope you enjoyed your free ride on the old meter, but now you will be paying what is actually being used.

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SATTV

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#430428 24-Jan-2011 08:33

In my case the "old" meter was only three years old, and matched the really old meter.

Now it has been changed to one that meters radicallly different, it has been changed out for another meter that resembles the earlier ones.

I don't have a heat pump, do have one or two cpmputers though

John

I know enough to be dangerous

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