Home charging with submeter

[SparkYellow]

I live in a complex where all the units are on submeters for gas, water, and electricity. The owner gets billed by the utility companies directly. I am worried that when I start charging at home, there will be more room for manipulation on my bill. My research assistant helped me come up with a plan to record EV power draw using a dedicated smart device. I can use the data to dispute any billing discrepancies, but that is still an uphill battle. I wonder if anyone else here has the same concerns?

Two years ago after a new manager took over, I noticed slight imputation on my bills. By law they should not. They cannot believe that the values are so low. They read my meters twice each month, 3 days apart. They replaced the water and gas meters both twice already. That was not enough, I got billed for a few units of gas when I know for a fact that I had zero usage. They'd probably chill if I stink and look disheveled. Noticing their obsession with my usage, I have to take pictures of the meters regularly.

I will most likely sleep better by paying the higher rate at charging stations. 😅

 

[Fattdogs]

It sounds like you were paying the service fee which is the base fee for any utility service before usage and even if you had 0 usage. The manager of your building shouldn't have any influence of your bills as they should merely be the messenger of the bill if you don't pay the utilities directly.

You should be billed for whatever electricity is used after your meter, the only way for the power company to record anything more is if someone taps into your lines, even then any dispute or "evidence" you have of the power you used is basically useless and the power company won't do anything about it.

 

[Fred Fanslau]

Most EV chargers I've seen tell you your usage in KwH.

 

[SparkYellow]

It sounds like you were paying the service fee which is the base fee for any utility service before usage and even if you had 0 usage. The manager of your building shouldn't have any influence of your bills as they should merely be the messenger of the bill if you don't pay the utilities directly.

You should be billed for whatever electricity is used after your meter, the only way for the power company to record anything more is if someone taps into your lines, even then any dispute or "evidence" you have of the power you used is basically useless and the powe company won't do anything about it.

The bill shows a breakdown and the base service fee is the same no matter how little I use. The imputation was on the unit of usage. Submeters are not connected to the power company. Any dispute is between me and the landlord.

There had also been one occasion where I got billed for my neighbor's usage with all three values substantially higher. I wish there hadn't been such incidents of discrepancy. Charging at home is most convenient.

 

[SparkYellow]

Most EV chargers I've seen tell you your usage in KwH.

Yes! There are also plugs that will record the total usage over any specified time period. The data can be downloaded/exported/printed out. It is essentially a more advanced version of the wifi smart plugs that we can access via app.

 

[steveozz67]

maybe it"s time to get the state attorney office involved , has the new manager sent any letters or documentation about minimum service charge ? this sounds like harassment

 

[phidauex]

There are strict rules around tenant submetering accuracy and billing, especially in CA, so I'd push that angle first - if your landlord is messing with your bills, then they are breaking the law - all they are allowed to do is pass along accurately metered percentages of the total bill.

That said, if you want to validate more, then yes, most "smart" EVSEs will track the kWh consumed by the charger.

 

[SparkYellow]

maybe it"s time to get the state attorney office involved , has the new manager sent any letters or documentation about minimum service charge ? this sounds like harassment

There are no letters about the new charge. We have to investigate on our own. They are going to install a new gas meter next Tuesday. The pilot light on the gas heater went out during a storm last month so the reading didn't change. 🤷

 

[SparkYellow]

There are strict rules around tenant submetering accuracy and billing, especially in CA, so I'd push that angle first - if your landlord is messing with your bills, then they are breaking the law - all they are allowed to do is pass along accurately metered percentages of the total bill.

That said, if you want to validate more, then yes, most "smart" EVSEs will track the kWh consumed by the charger.

I have to figure out how much I save by charging at home for roughly 2K miles a month. A preliminary calculation says $80. The next question is, when I track the usage using EVSE, do I have the ballz to challenge any discrepancy. There are rules, but I have seen how rules get broken with almost no consequences. 😅