Current through all regulations passed and filed through March 18, 2024
(A) Electric energy
delivered to the customer shall be metered, except where it is impractical to
meter the electric usage, such as in street lighting and temporary or special
installations. The usage in such exceptions may be calculated or billed on a
demand or connected load rate as provided in an approved tariff on file with
the commission.
(B) A customer's
electric usage shall be metered by commercially acceptable measuring devices
that comply with "American National Standards Institute" (ANSI) standards.
Meter accuracy shall comply with the
2014 version of ANSI C 12.1 standards. No
metering device shall be placed in service or knowingly allowed to remain in
service if it does not comply with these standards.
(C) Electric utility employees or authorized
agents of the electric utility shall have the right of access to the electric
utility's metering equipment for the purpose of reading, replacing, repairing,
or testing the meter, or determining that the installation of the metering
equipment is in compliance with the electric utility's requirements, or other
such purposes necessary to permit the electric utility to carry out its
authorized functions.
(D) Meters
that are not direct reading meters, such as meters with a multiplier not equal
to 1.0, shall have the multiplier plainly marked on or adjacent to the meter.
All charts taken from recording meters shall be marked with the date of the
record, the meter number, the customer name, and the chart multiplier. The
register ratio shall be marked on all meter registers. The watt-hour constant
for the meter shall be placed on all watt-hour meters.
(E) The electric utility's meters shall be
installed and removed by the electric utility's personnel or authorized agent.
Before initial service to a service location is energized, the electric utility
shall verify that the installation of the meter base and associated equipment
has been both inspected and approved by the local inspection
authority or, in any area where there is no local inspection authority, has
been inspected by a licensed electrician.
(F) Metering accuracy shall be the
responsibility of the electric utility.
(1)
Upon request by a customer, the electric utility shall test its meter to verify
its compliance with the ANSI C 12.1 standards within thirty business days after
the date of the request.
(2) The
customer or the customer's representative may be present when the meter test is
performed at the customer's request.
(3) A written explanation of the test results
shall be provided to the customer within ten business days of the completed
test.
(4) If the accuracy of the
meter is found to be within the tolerances specified in this rule:
(a) The first test at the customer's request
shall be free of charge.
(b) The
electric utility may charge the customer an approved tariffed fee for each
succeeding test conducted less than thirty-six months after the last test
requested by the customer on the same meter. Each
electric utility shall notify the customer of such charge prior to the
test.
(5) If the accuracy
of the meter is found to be outside the tolerances specified in this rule, the
electric utility:
(a) Shall not charge a fee
or recover any testing expenses from the customer.
(b) Shall recalibrate the meter or provide a
properly functioning meter that complies with the ANSI C 12.1 standards without
charge to the customer.
(c) Shall,
within thirty days, pay or credit any overpayment to the customer, in
accordance with one of the following billing adjustments:
(i) When the electric utility or customer has
established the period of meter inaccuracy, the overcharge shall be computed on
the basis of metered usage prior and/or subsequent to such period, consistent
with the rates in effect during that period.
(ii) When the electric utility and customer
cannot establish the period of meter inaccuracy, the overcharge period shall be
determined to be: the period since the customer's "on" date or the period since
the date of most recent meter test performed, whichever is shorter. The
applicable rates shall be those in effect during the period of inaccuracy in
order to determine the appropriate credit or refund.
Paragraph (F)(5) of this rule shall not apply to meter or
metering inaccuracies caused by tampering with or unauthorized reconnection of
the meter or metering equipment.
(d) Any undercharge shall be billed in
accordance with rule
4901:1-10-23
of the Administrative Code.
(G) Each electric utility shall identify, by
company name and/or parent trademark name and serial or assigned meter numbers
and/or letters, placed in a conspicuous position on the meter, each customer
meter that it owns, operates, or maintains.
(H) Each electric utility shall maintain the
following records regarding each meter that it owns, operates, or maintains,
for the life of each such meter plus three years:
(1) Serial or assigned meter
number.
(2) Every location where
the meter has been installed and removed, together with the dates of such
installations and removals.
(3)
Date of any customer request for a test of the meter.
(4) Date and reason for any test of the
meter.
(5) Result of any test of
the meter.
(6) Meter readings
before and after each test of the meter.
(7) Accuracy of the meter found during each
test, "as found" and "as left".
(I) Each electric utility shall comply with
the following requirements regarding meter reading:
(1) The electric utility shall obtain actual
readings of all its in-service customer meters at least
quarterly each calendar year,
unless a customer, consumer, property owner, landlord, or his/her agent
prevents utility company personnel from reading the meter during that time
period. Every billing period, the electric utility shall make reasonable
attempts to obtain accurate, actual readings of the energy and demand, if
applicable, delivered for the billing period, except where the customer and the
electric utility have agreed to other arrangements. Meter readings taken by
electronic means shall be considered actual readings.
(2) In addition to the requirements of
paragraph (I)(1) of this rule, the electric utility shall provide, upon the
customer's request, two actual meter readings, without charge, per calendar
year. The customer may only request an actual meter read if usage has been
estimated for more than two of the immediately preceding billing cycles
consecutively or if the customer has reasonable grounds to believe that the
meter is malfunctioning.
(3) An
actual meter reading is required at the initiation and/or the termination of
service, if the meter has not been read within the sixty calendar days
immediately preceding initiation and/or termination of service and access to
the meter is provided.
(4) If the
meter has most recently been read within the thirty-three to fifty-nine
calendar days immediately preceding the initiation and/or termination of
service, the electric utility shall inform the customer, when the customer
contacts the electric utility, of the option to have an actual meter read at no
charge to the customer.
(5) If the
meter has been read within the thirty-two calendar days immediately preceding
the initiation and/or termination of service, the electric utility may estimate
usage.
(J) Advanced meter
opt-out service
(1) An electric utility shall
provide customers with the option to remove an installed advanced meter and
replace it with a traditional meter,
or in the event that an advanced meter has not been
installed, the option to decline installation of an advanced meter and
retain a traditional meter, including a cost-based, tariffed opt-out
service.
(2) Prior to installation
of an advanced meter, the utility shall give notice to the customer at least
one business day in advance.
(3)
The electric utility shall notify the customer of the following if a customer
expresses interest in using a traditional meter:
(a) The customer will be required to pay the
amount of the approved tariff charge.
(b) The electric utility shall explain the
facts concerning advanced meters and attempt to address any customer concerns
prior to signing up a customer for advanced meter opt-out service. To the
extent that the electric utility offers multiple options for the customer to
obtain or retain either an advanced meter or a traditional meter, the utility
shall explain each option and the associated costs and give the customer choice
over the option selection.
(c) If
the customer is currently enrolled in a product or service requiring an
advanced meter as a condition of enrollment with the electric utility, the
electric utility shall notify the customer that a different product or service
must be chosen prior to installation of the traditional meter.
(4) The electric utility shall
have the right to refuse to provide advanced meter optout service in either of
the following circumstances:
(a) If such a
service creates a safety hazard to consumers or their premises, the public, or
the electric utility's personnel or facilities.
(b) If a customer does not allow the electric
utility's employees or agents access to the meter at the customer's
premises.
(5) Tariffs
(a) Each electric
utility shall have on file with the commission an approved tariff offering
residential customers the option to remove an installed advanced meter and
replace it with a traditional meter, and the option to decline the installation
of an advanced meter and retain a traditional meter. Such tariff shall comply
with the following requirements:
(i) In the
event special tariff provisions are required due to circumstances not addressed
in this rule, the electric utility shall address those circumstances in its
tariff application, but shall make its best efforts to maintain consistency
with the rules herein.
(ii) The
tariff shall not be available to any customer taking generation service under a
time differentiated rate. An electric utility may establish certain fees for
electing not to use an advanced meter. Such fees shall be calculated based upon
the costs incurred to provide advanced meter opt-out service as allowed by this
rule.
(b) An electric utility
may establish a one-time fee to recover the costs of removing an existing
advanced meter, and the subsequent installation of a traditional
meter.
(c) An electric utility
may establish a recurring fee to recover costs associated with providing meter
reading and billing services associated with the use of a traditional
meter.
(d) Costs incurred by
an electric utility to provide advanced meter opt-out service shall be borne
only by customers who elect to receive advanced meter opt-out
service.