Meter Errors Shock Con Ed Customers

Electric meter errors are forcing some Con Ed customers to pay their neighbors’ electricity bills and wait months for their situation to be resolved.

Nicole, a writer from Astoria, Queens, finds herself in a difficult situation.

Anticipating higher bills because her apartment is powered entirely by electricity, Nicole (who asked that only her first name be published) was extra vigilant about tracking her household’s electricity usage online in real time — she could do so thanks to the smart meter installed in her building.

But something was wrong: she noticed that even when her family had left the city, the usage seemed to be similar to what they used when they were still there.

Then, in January 2023, about a year after she moved in, her neighbors left for a week.

“My consumption went down to zero,” Nicole said. “I thought, Bingo!”

Two months later, a Con Ed technician came to her home and confirmed the meter error.

It’s difficult to know how many customers are affected by errors like these.

Con Ed has installed nearly five million smart meters that measure and record electricity usage in real time and send the data to the utility. According to Con Ed, an accidental switchover is a rare problem and is the result of human error during a building retrofit or construction. Con Ed customers have filed about 200 complaints with the state Department of Public Utilities about contractor errors in smart meter installation since 2022.

“Con Edison is responding to customers and working with them to resolve any issues or billing questions as quickly as possible,” Con Ed spokesman Allan Drury said in a statement. “We regret any inconvenience this may cause to any customer.”

Laurie Wheelock, executive director of the Public Utility Law Project, said she sometimes hears from her customers about meter errors and her organization helps them resolve the problems.

Wheelock said customers who suspect improper billing should first contact Con Ed and then file a complaint with DPS if there is an unsatisfactory resolution.

“The fact that the ministry is involved is a kind of regulatory control,” she said.

Nicole contacted DPS because her situation still hasn’t been regularized, more than a year later. She continues to call Con Ed once a month and pay the bill, even though she knows it doesn’t accurately reflect what she owes.

“It’s a financial planning issue,” she said. “I don’t know if I’m going to end up owing money or being liable for money. We’re looking at over two years of inaccurate billing, a year and a half. That could be a huge bill for us.”

If customers pay less, they settle the amount and don’t have to pay interest. If customers pay more, they get their money back with interest, Con Ed said.

Almost a year

Nicole is not alone in facing a lack of rapid resolution, despite pursuing appropriate channels.

Jacob Mnookin, a two-unit homeowner in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, has been receiving erroneous bills for nearly a year because of a mistake. He realized last July that he was paying for his tenants’ electricity after installing solar panels on his home.

He thought it would be easy to handle: “I’ll tell them what the situation is and, you know, they’ll send me a check.”

But that wasn’t the case: He said it took two months for a technician to come and check the problem, and he was told he would get a fix in six to eight weeks. Despite regular back-and-forth with the power company, the billing and meter have yet to be fixed. He also filed a complaint with the DPS.

“Every time I talk to someone there (at Con Ed), I start over,” Mnookin said.

In a statement, DPS spokesman James Denn said the Public Utilities Commission is aware of Con Ed’s slow response to customer requests.

“The Commission continues to hold public services to account and works diligently to resolve all complaints,” he said.

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