Faulty meter behind $1100 bill
Genesis Energy has admitted a faulty power meter is to blame for a Christchurch man receiving exorbitant electricity bills for 12 months.
Bradley Tuhi’s monthly power bill peaked at $1105 in July, yet at the time Genesis Energy failed to accept it could be at fault.
Tuhi spent months trying to convince Genesis Energy it was not possible for him, his wife and step son to consume that much electricity at their fully-insulated, double-glazed, 10-year-old Governors Bay home that was heated using gas.
After being contacted by The Press last month, Genesis Energy said it would install a new meter and would test the old meter at an authorised test house, certified by the Electricity Commission.
In an email sent to Tuhi this week, Genesis Energy said Tuhi’s original meter, a 2008 Metec Day/Night smart meter, failed all tests and the company calculated he was over charged by 66 per cent.
It would refund him $4393 and give him a $250 credit as compensation.
However, Tuhi said he believed he was overcharged by close to 80 per cent and he was ‘‘insulted’’ at the $250 compensation credit.
‘‘The financial impact this has had on my family and level of stress this created amongst the household was the cause of many arguments as we tried endlessly to reduce our consumption,’’ he said.
‘‘The countless nights sitting in darkness at an attempt to reduce our power bill was all due to the lack of care Genesis had during that process.’’
Tuhi has been monitoring his energy usage on the new meter since it was installed three weeks ago and said he was consuming about $150 worth of electricity a month. The new meter was averaging about 24 kilowatts a day. At times, the old meter recorded 90kw in 12 hours.
Tuhi’s average monthly power bill this year was $807. The average annual power bill in New Zealand in 2017 was $2363 or $197 a month. Tuhi paid $2982 between June and August.
Genesis corporate relations group manager Emma-Kate Greer said testing had established there was an issue with the meter, which was causing it to over record consumption.
Greer would not say how many other Genesis customers had the same meter or whether there had been problems with them. She said the company was working with the meter owner, Vector AMS, to determine if it had similar issues with that type of meter. ‘‘We’re very sorry for the stress and frustration this has caused Mr Tuhi and are working to ensure that he is not out of pocket as a result of his meter fault including related expenses incurred and a goodwill payment to acknowledge the time and frustration.’’
Utilities Disputes, which provides a free and independent service to consumers who have complaints about electricity and gas companies, received an average of about 70 to 80 complaints each year related to advanced/smart meters, but commissioner Nanette Moreau said fewer than five meters were found to be faulty annually.