New Directives for the Investigation of Electricity and Gas Measurement Disputes by Inspectors of Measurements Canada
2006-12-15
A review of Measurement Canada's (MC) procedures for conducting electricity and gas measurement dispute investigations has identified the need for revisions with respect to the reporting requirements of the dispute procedures. The purpose of this notice is to provide information about the implementation of these changes to avoid any possible inconvenience to industry and consumer stakeholders. This notice highlights the main directives given to MC inspectors who carry out such investigations, and which replace certain policies of the procedure P-EG-01 - Electricity and Gas Measurement Dispute Investigation Procedure until this procedure is amended.
Pursuant to section 23 of the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act (Act), designated MC inspectors conduct measurement dispute investigations at the request of the person or body (contractor) that supplies gas or electricity or the purchaser of these commodities, and reports the findings to the parties involved. In accordance with currently established measurement dispute investigation procedures, a certificate of findings (Certificate of Measurement Dispute Investigation Findings) is provided to each party concerned with the matter, as required under subsection 23(2) of the Act. Effective immediately, when establishing the dispute rating for the investigation, the Inspector will qualify the outcome using the terms "Founded" instead of "Upheld", or "Unfounded", instead of "Not Upheld". Until the Certificate of Measurement Dispute Investigation Findings is revised, the inspector will strike out the words "Upheld" and "Not Upheld" and replace them with the applicable terms "Founded" or "Unfounded" as the case may be.
No dispute ratings will be qualified by the Inspector on the basis of questionable estimation practices, or errors found as a result of the review of billing, except for the use of a wrong metering installation multiplier used in the billing calculation. Dispute ratings will only be established on the basis of the condition, registration of the meter or metering installation, and/or wrong meter or metering installation multiplier used in the billing calculation.
When appropriate, the Inspector may review billing during a measurement dispute investigation (as part of their review of applicable records), any conclusions reached will be limited to the determination of any time periods related to any serious errors found with the meter or metering installation, or in relation to a meter or a metering installation multiplier.
To assist the parties in identifying potential problems related to billing, an Inspector may provide an observation which will suggest the possibility of an existing problem. The Inspector may state in the remarks that an apparent anomaly has been found in the billing calculation, and may also suggest that this be further reviewed by the contractor and the purchaser. Under such cases, it should be noted that although an apparent anomaly has been detected, as this observation is not related to the condition or registration of the meter and unless a problem is identified in this regard, the inspector will qualify such a dispute as "not founded".
For additional information regarding this notice please contact the Senior Program Officer responsible for electricity or gas measurement.
Guy Dacquay
Manager, Utility Metering Division
Program Development Directorate
Measurement Canada
Tel: 613-954-8370
Fax: 613-952-1736
E-Mail: guy.dacquay@ic.gc.ca
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