FORT WORTH — Following hundreds of consumer complaints and concern from the Texas Public Utility Commission, Oncor is now testing its new "smart" meters in side-by-side comparisons in North Texas.
But homeowners in one neighborhood in far North Fort Worth have already come to their own conclusions.
“I’m very frustrated,” said Diana Fisher. “I just know my meter's different than everybody else's. It's not the old little mechanical with the numbers turning; it’s actually a digital meter.”
Fisher is convinced that her digital meter has been overcharging her for years.
She’s been complaining about high power bills since she moved into a brand-new subdivision three years ago. She often spends, on average, $300-400 a month on electricity.
Fisher became so irritated that she started introducing herself to her neighbors and comparing bills.
She found homes with the mechanical meters consistently showed that families were using less electricity.
Every home in the subdivision is nearly identical; all share similar floor plans and have nearly the same square footage.
Around the corner, Melody Whitlock and her family live in a 3,065 square foot home — exactly the same size as the Fishers'.
Whitlock’s family is larger; she has three kids, while the Fishers only have one at home.
Yet the Whitlocks — with a larger family — consistently have lower power bills. Statements show they’re using half the electricity as the Fishers.
In January, for instance, the Whitlocks' meter said they used 3,123 kilowatt hours of power; the Fishers' meter said the family consumed 4,998 kwh.
“December and January were our two highest bills, and we were gone a week of those months,” Fisher complained. “I really don't know how I could be using this much electricity.”
Not only were the Whitlocks at home, but they had their Christmas lights running for hours every night. The Fishers passed on the decorations to save electricity.
In several ways, the Whitlocks admit they suspect they use more electricity than their neighbors around the corner. They wash clothes every other day, while the Fishers do laundry once a week.
The Fishers spent thousands making their home energy efficient, even unplugging every major appliance.
Diana Fisher, a legal editor, admits she works from home, but insists she leaves the lights off, and only turns on the family television once a week.
Melody Whitlock sheepishly admits her husband sleeps with the TV turned on.
It’s all enraged Diana Fisher.
“They have TV; we don't! We don't have little kids that watch TV! They use a lot more [electricity]; they have to!” she said. “And their bills are $200-$300 cheaper than mine every month!”
Fisher said her years of complaints have been largely ignored. “I’ve called so many times, I think they’re sick of hearing me,” she said.
Oncor is quick to point out the Fishers have a digital meter that’s been in use for nearly 20 years and not one of the new “smart” meters.
The utility recently began installing hundreds of thousands of the new sophisticated digital meters on homes across North Texas.
Homeowners, shocked with suddenly high bills, have questioned their accuracy and lawmakers tried unsuccessfully to get Oncor to stop installing them.
Currently, the Public Utility Commission is investigating, although Oncor insists its new meters work perfectly.
One major difference is that the “smart” devices carry data wirelessly to Oncor. Oncor said the Fishers' digital reader is an older version that cannot transmit readings wirelessly. The company insists both the Fisher’s digital meter and the Whitlocks' mechanical meter work properly.
“There's absolutely no difference (in their meters),” said Oncor spokesperson Chris Schein. “It’s the difference between reading an analog watch and getting it from a digital watch; it’s the same thing.”
Schein said the Fishers’ usage was in line with a family of that size in a home that large, although he concedes that the Whitlocks’ power consumption is low.
However, Schein figures the Fishers’ one teenage daughter is likely using more electricity than the Whitlock’s three young children. He says teenagers, with all of their electronic devices, typically sap more energy than small children who still don’t know how to turn on the lights.
“What we're seeing here is a difference in lifestyle and that's what really drives the difference between the two families' usage,” Schein said.
Diana Fisher strongly disagrees. She’s now left feeling helpless and furious as she struggles to pay electric bills reaching $600 a month.
“I don't know what to do,” she said.
And the difference in power usage has even Melody Whitlock suspicious.
“There's really not making any sense of it,” she said. “There's something definitely wrong.”
E-mail jbetz@wfaa.com
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