JACKSON, MI – The Michigan Public Service Commission is investigating Consumers Energy after receiving persistent complaints from customers about faulty natural gas meters, possible overbilling due to longer estimated meter readings and delays in new service installations for electric and gas customers.
MPSC officials said they had received numerous complaints from customers frustrated by faulty meters that didn’t show the amounts of electricity used. Complaints were also received from customers who feared their bills were abnormally high because the company estimated the bills due to a lack of accurate meter readings, officials said.
The commission found that from January 1, 2022 to May 1, 2023 it also received 177 complaints about the inability of consumers to meet the requirements of service quality and reliability standards, according to which 90% of new service installations were completed within 15 working days have to be.
The complaints came as Consumers Energy worked to transition its advanced metering infrastructure’s electricity meters from now-outdated 3G cellphone technology to 4G-based meters, according to the MPSC.
In 2019, the MPSC granted consumers an exemption from technical standards and approval of alternative testing methods for the meters, which were decommissioned and upgraded to 4G technology.
Investigating complaints, MPSC officials found that consumers were estimating bills for many electricity customers with 3G meters even before cellphone companies shut down 3G service in January 2023 because the meters weren’t working and showing blank screens.
That meant neither customers nor consumer meters could get the actual readings from the meters, the MPSC found.
MPSC said its staff learned back in 2020 that consumers were aware of the malfunctions, which the company attributed to battery pollution issues that could result in blank screens, with more than 900,000 meters potentially at risk. However, consumers did not address the issue when they applied for the meter check exemption, officials said.
Concerned about this and other inconsistencies in reporting meter problems, MPSC officials raised the possibility that consumers could be in violation of several sections of the MPSC Consumer Standards and Billing Practices for Electricity and Natural Gas Services.
These include, but are not limited to, rules for the required replacement of defective meters, limits on the estimated number of monthly bills and the inability of customers or energy suppliers to determine accurate readings of electricity consumption from defective meters.
Brian Wheeler, media relations manager at Consumers Energy, said the company is focused on delivering the services its customers and the MPSC expect and will cooperate with the commission’s investigation.
“Consumers Energy is committed to doing what’s right for our customers and improving our performance and communications,” Wheeler said in a statement.
Friday’s order requires consumers to tell the commission by August 4:
- An explanation of consumer meter reading performance history from 2020 to date, including the number of customers who have received consecutive meter readings beyond two consecutive months, reasons why customer bills have been estimated, who has been held responsible for consecutive estimated readings and which of the Consumers or its customers The contractor made staff available to read defective meters.
- An explanation of how consumers have communicated with customers about estimated meter readings, the number of complaints the utility has received, whether customers have received information on how to read their meters, and whether customers have received estimated meter readings because of the 3G issue or because of faulty meters.
- An explanation of what consumers do with amortization based on an extended estimated billing, including where amortization may occur in a rate case and how the business can bill customers accurately when it cannot obtain an actual meter reading.
- An explanation of why consumers did not disclose the number of defective meters or did not inform the MPSC that customers would receive estimated meter readings until new meters were installed.
- Data on how many 3G and 4G meters were affected by dirty batteries each year from 2020 to 2023, and how many 3G and 4G meters were affected by other issues that caused them to not display readings.
- An explanation of the Company’s process for completing various steps required to deliver new electricity and natural gas services and the average number of days it took to complete installations over the 2019-2023 period.
- For new installations not completing within the required 15 days, an explanation of why Consumers was unable to comply and what steps it will take to ensure future compliance.
The Commission instructed MPSC staff to analyze the data provided by consumers and make recommendations by September 29 to address the issues identified in the regulation.
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