A resolution filed in Puerto Rico’s House of Representatives would order the body’s Government Committee to investigate the acquisition, installation and reliability of LUMA Energy’s smart meters, after customers complained of unusual increases in the consumption recorded and in their bills following the equipment swap. The measure was filed by Representative Gretchen Hau. The probe would cover how many meters were bought, installed and activated, broken down by town and customer category, and would seek to determine whether the changes reflect a real rise in consumption, the replacement of estimated readings with actual readings, billing adjustments, or deficiencies in the installation, programming, calibration, data transmission or operation of the devices.
According to the resolution’s preamble, the modernization program, funded with federal money, calls for replacing roughly 1.5 million meters. It would also examine the meters’ brands, models, manufacturers and specifications for measurement, communication and data storage, plus the criteria used to select suppliers and contractors. Another element would be identifying how many devices have shown defects, measurement errors, communication failures or programming problems requiring repair or replacement, and the inquiry would review warranties and claim mechanisms with manufacturers and suppliers.
LUMA would be required to provide information on the complaints it received, including cases investigated, resolved and pending, and those in which errors were confirmed.