City of Punta Gorda plans to hire meter readers in the wake of numerous electronic equipment failures that left utility customers in some cases with bills $500 more than their usual monthly bills.
During a Jan. 17 City Council meeting, City Manager Greg Murray said more than half of the more than 14,000 city utility customers had meters that failed to provide accurate readings.
The equipment made by Zenner USA was designed to provide readings without having personnel read each individual meter.
Waltraud Mitter, a customer who lives in Seminole Lakes, said she was overbilled more than $500. She said she was underbilled for about six months and discovered her meter malfunctioned.
City Utilities Director Neil Peters said the meters were installed in 2018 and 2019, and the city began major repairs on them in 2020.
While Zenner officials told the city the company was responsible for equipment that was under warranty, there would be a cost to the city for sending technicians to make repairs to the meters designed to provide automatic electronic readings without the need of a meter reader.
Zenner officials, including company President Rich Sanders, could not be reached for comment.
Murray said the city would seek bids from firms providing meter readers, and it would take about 30 days to hire a firm and perhaps another 30 days to begin work.
Assistant City Manager Melissa Reichert said about 7,000 meters failed, 6,000 of which require manual reads.
City Attorney David Levin ruled out suing the firm, stating it wouldn’t be worth it after paying legal expenses.
Peters said the city hired a technician who used to work for Zenner and has repaired about 660 meters to date.
City Director of Finance Kristin Simeon said the utilities department is flagging incorrect bills before they are mailed. She said customers should call the utilities department if they receive bills with a zero balance.
Mayor Lynne Matthews called the situation a catastrophic failure and said the issue was on Zenner’s end.
Levin said the city’s vendor couldn’t be of help in this situation because it procured the equipment from Zenner.
Meanwhile, customers who receive an inflated bill and have difficulty paying can ask the utilities department to be enrolled in a payment program.
