Eversource's steps to request a meter reading is ridiculous

Submitted by HillyjoKokoMo t3_z9ymzx in newhampshire

I am on a budget plan with October being the renewal month.I called in with a question on my budget amount and was told by a rep that my usage had gone up from the year prior. I said this is impossible as my house hold is down 1 person ( divorce) and for two weeks out of every month no one is at my house. I turn down the temp and shut off all the lights. I even had an energy audit done and they added new insulation, weather stripping, new thermostats, etc. I am aware of the rate increase but I am not using more energy!!

The rep tells me I can request a meter reading to ensure they are going off the correct data. This is the process as she explained it to me. If anyone has completed this without going through so many hoops please let me know.

1- The phone rep I spoke to needs to email another department 2- This other department will email instructions on how to create a $20 money order or prepaid check (because this isn't a free service & for some reason they don't take debit or credit cards 🙄) 3- Once I get the money order created, I mail it back in 4- Once Eversource receives my payment, they mail me a confirmation 5- I may or may not need to call back in to schedule the meter reading

I don't understand how in this day & age this company can have such bad customer service. Not the phone reps but the procedures customers have to jump through in order to ensure they are being charged an accurate amount. What the actual fuck

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ZacPetkanas t1_iyjbfzf wrote

That sounds incredibly obtuse.

You can log into your Eversource account and view 36 months of past bills. Each bill will include "current read" and "previous read" values for your meter from which your usage is calculated. I'd start there and see if there is a discrepancy.

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Stickyfynger t1_iyjugcl wrote

Something is off with that rep maybe. When we moved they told us they could read the meter remotely bc it was a smart meter. Also you can read the meter yourself if it’s an older meter start right and go left. There’s either four or five dials. If needles are between two numbers use the lower number. $20 for an off cycle meter reading paid in that process is just strange. ….idk…

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Quirky_Butterfly_946 t1_iyjbmlc wrote

Word of advice, document the meter reading right before they come out if you can. You can also do this for a month and see if it corresponds with your bill too

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PirateLunaFox2121 t1_iykp13l wrote

Ummmm I work for Eversource and I would call back and speak with another rep… they should have been able to put an order in for you and have it charged in your next monthly bill…. Very simple process.

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plz1 t1_iykm6ez wrote

Why do you need to go through all that for a meter reading? The meter should say what the current reading is, on it. You can look at your last bill to see what the last reading was. Or do they not show the reading on the budget plan invoices?

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flipsalty t1_iyjlekc wrote

I received an estimated meter read for a house I was selling. I questioned why it was an estimate and not an actual read since since I hadn’t been in the house for the last month. I was told that I had needed to request that service ahead of time. Eversource is purposely difficult to deal with.

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NHGuy t1_iykgd1f wrote

I would definitely contact the PUC about this. They may probably be able to help direct you. This is a fuster cluck

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Parzival_1775 t1_iymajhu wrote

They're a monopoly, so why bother with good customer service? What are you going to do, cancel your service?

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External_Dimension71 t1_iyjtog8 wrote

How are your appliances? They draw more power as they age and become less efficient.

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ryboto t1_iynvywy wrote

Liberty Utilities. NH Electric coop is at least semi competent.

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ogurekplz t1_iyk487c wrote

Thanks for this info and absolutely fuck the money guzzling nature of the companies that give us our basic needs. Also wanted to request a reading because shit has hit the fan and with a $600 per month rent increase on top of utilities being absolutely insanely inflated, I have no idea how collectively people are surviving anymore.

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Glass-Vegetable138 t1_iykbg0x wrote

$600 a month rent increase?! So sorry, my friend! This has to be on the seacoast like RIGHT on the coast where you walk 50 paces and be in the ocean. I don’t know how anyone can justify that.

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ClitYeastWood1337 t1_iyjcqu1 wrote

You should go with Unitil. Much better option

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ilotek t1_iyk46w6 wrote

How so? They proposed a hike in September effective 12/1 that would put their charges as the most expensive of the 4 options

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