Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - You may be looking forward to getting a new, smart water meter that officials say will be much more accurate than the old one. You also may be wondering how it will affect your bill.
Retired physician Dr. James Jancuska of Lake Charles is good at math and enjoys figuring things out. He figured out his Entergy bill and meter on his home had conflicting information. Shade Canvas Tarps
When his first water bill came after getting a smart meter, he wanted to know why he was charged $300 for one day on his old meter.
“They charged me for 48,000 gallons of water. That’s sort of like, maybe I took 2,400 showers that day? Maybe I flushed the toilet 32,000 times that day? Maybe I ran the dishwasher 4,800 times? Or I ran the garden hose full open for 114 hours. So, I knew something wasn’t right,” he said.
After calling city hall he learned the usage on the old meter was being estimated, and he used more water than they thought. So he owed the city money.
“She explained to me that my bills in the past, and I don’t know how long, had been estimated. I said, ‘Okay, so the reading they got on the old meter caught up with what they missed,’ and she said, ‘‘Well, that’s probably right.’”
He also asked for a picture of the old meter so he could verify he was charged the right amount for the previous usage. He has not yet received it.
At this point, Jancuska is satisfied he owed the city that $300, but he wants to make sure no one gets caught off guard.
“I mean that’s a lot, that’s 50,000 gallons I wasn’t charged for, but now I’m getting charged for. I mean it’s $300. To a lot of people $300 is a lot of money, especially when you go to the supermarket these days,” said Jancuska.
Right now it’s too early to tell whether other customers will have the same problem because only 35% have received the new smart meters.
Everyone in Lake Charles is expected to receive a new smart water meter by mid-2024.
City officials say they resumed reading meters in 2021, after the disasters of 2020 and spring 2021. They are not expecting a lot of people to have discrepancies between what they paid and what they owe.
Jancuska is pleased to say his smart meter seems to accurately reflect his usage for the past month.
Multilayer Tarpaulin Copyright 2023 KPLC. All rights reserved.