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Hi Everyone,
I am one of the unlucky people who has a gas meter that is inside my apartment under the kitchen sink.
The builder no doubt put it there so as to save on pipe costs when doing the installation.
Where this is a problem is that the meter readers can’t get to it; they inevitably turn up when everyone is not at home (business hours) Then they estimate the usage.
For me previously, Jemena (the gas supplier in NSW) used to have an arrangement whereby the meter reader would leave a self reporting meter card under the door if you were not home. You would fill this out and mail it to Jemena (postage paid). However in June 2016 they stopped the self reporting meter cards and replaced it with nothing.
I’ve tried taking photos but apparently these are not accepted, which is a ridiculous arrangement in 2018 where most of us have smartphones and easy access to email.
I have escalated this to the energy ombudsman in NSW but they can do nothing as there is an overarching rule that states “you must provide clear and unimpeded access to you meter” Unfortunately the residents of my apartment building can do nothing as the builder installed the meters in a location which really should have been illegal, but who knows why or how that got done back in the day.
I doubt very much whether the strata committee would approve the cost of relocating all the meters and even if we could find a meter with an electronically readable remote panel it would need to be installed and approved by Jemena which brings us back to square one.
What I am trying to gauge is how many people are out there in Strata land who have meters inside their apartment?
I would really like to see the rules change so that there is an exception to the clear and unimpeded access rule and the ability to self report as well as the banning of meters being installed in apartments (if this hasn’t been done already).
If there is enough support maybe we can take this to the minister being an election year.
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For all of the reasons you mentioned our gas meters for central hot water located inside apartments have been an absolute pain in the proverbial to deal with. Also loads of residents very frustrated with estimated meter reads and the lack of trust in doing a self read.
Our building manager eventually negotiated with Jemena that we would be notified a few days before SkillTech (the new meter reading contractor) would be reading the meters. That got old very quickly and Jemena then approached us to have wireless meters installed at no cost to the Owner’s Corporation. The wireless meters were a drop in replacement for the existing meters so no pipe work was needed, just a bit of hot water down time & access to every lot. The wireless meters are read by a Skilltech person walking around the corridors with a reader. We’ve had wireless meters for 18 months now & no more complaints from any party.
Maybe you can try that route? We’re a large strata with ~330 lots.
Hi Inspector71,
I’m even unluckier than you as I have two metres in my apartment, one under the sink that reads the gas for the stovetop consumption and another under the laundry tub to read the hot water consumption. Probably all installed illegally when built 10 years ago on the cheap, along with mostly everything else here.
Our electronic metre reading panels are installed in the locked electricity room downstairs in the basement car park. A majority of my bills were issued as a “guesstimate” along with other residents, due to the fact that for Jemena to correctly read these metres remotely they need mobile phone reception. Our closest mobile tower is miles away and reception is basically non-existant, I need to stand in the middle of the street to use my mobile hence why I still have my land-line. Coupled with the fact there is a new multi story building going up right next door to me has probably caused even less signal.
I am unsure what the solution is or who pays for any upgrade but presently in my situation it’s due to poor mobile phone reception.
Our meter is inside of the apartment and have had the same issues as you. One time I heard a noise of something being slipped under the door. It was a self report card. I opened the door and saw the meter reader litetally running away. Obviously a meter reader doing a minimal amount of work.
Lots of people in the building were complaining about the lack of meter reading despite being home. I think the subcontractor was sacked as we started getting someone who actually knocked on the door.
I will never forget the sight of that meter reading running away so he didn’t have to read the meter.
Not surprised the meter reader ran away. They allocated 2 hours for the reader to get into all ~330 lots at ours.
& the wireless meters we now have have a 10 year+ battery so they don’t transmit very far. They are read by someone wandering along the corridors. Model is this one:
https://www.enware.com.au/product/EHM9020?pid=3291
I’m not sure how one would work if it transmitted via 3G/4G presumably the meter would need to be hard wired to power.
Get your Owner’s Corp./residents to start writing stern letters to Jemena/Obudsperson saying estimates aren’t good enough.
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