Blumenthal wants meters re-examined

CONNECTICUT - Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has asked state regulators to reopen their investigation into the accuracy of Connecticut Light & Power's meters.

He told a columnist that he's still concerned about the possibility of inaccurate and erratic meters, according to a recent edition of the Hartford Courant. While the electric meters work most of the time, there have been instances where they've reported higher than actual usage.

Blumenthal said he's upset that CL&P, the state's largest utility, has not yet told customers about the meter issues and how people should be aware that spikes in their usage could indicate a meter problem, according to the newspaper.

CL&P insists that a vast majority of its meters are accurate all the time and there's an adequate safety net to find the five-tenths of a percent that are inaccurate.

In February, regulators directed CL&P to improve its customer service.

The state Department of Public Utility Control also ordered the utility to check electric meters within 10 days of receiving a complaint.

The order followed a six-month investigation into complaints filed last summer. The DPUC said CL&P failed to provide service that its customers deserve or should have expected.

CL&P spokesman Mitch Gross said in February that the company had lost its customer-service focus in the past, it had acknowledged its shortcomings and had implemented remedial actions.

The DPUC said the company needed to monitor and continue to improve its response to complaints. Regulators also told CL&P that it must keep track of all new meters installed to determine how many showed an immediate decrease of electricity usage of at least 15 percent.