OUR outlines NWC obligations for defective meters and estimated bills

A National Water Commission customer has sought help from the Office of Utilities Regulation after receiving estimated water bills for several months while the display on the meter at the premises remained blank. The customer said the estimated charges did not correspond with bills previously calculated using actual meter readings.

According to the complaint, the faulty meter was reported through the NWC mobile application around the middle of January, and a replacement was requested. The customer expected the problem to be resolved within a few weeks, but said several months passed without the meter being changed. With no figure visible on the device, the customer also had no means of checking actual water consumption against the amounts billed.

The OUR said the circumstances described appeared to involve breaches of the NWC's guaranteed service standards. After receiving notice that a meter is defective, the water provider is required to inspect and confirm the problem, complete repairs or install a replacement within 20 working days.

The regulator also cited guaranteed standard WGS8, which limits the use of estimated billing when NWC personnel can reach the customer's meter. Under that standard, a customer should not be issued more than two estimated bills in succession where the company has access to the device.

Customers are eligible for compensation when the applicable service requirements are not fulfilled, the OUR advised. That payment should be processed automatically and placed on the affected customer's account as a credit.

Because the customer had already submitted the complaint to the NWC without obtaining a resolution, the regulator recommended referring the case to the OUR for investigation. Complaints may be sent by email to [email protected] or made by telephone at 876-968-6053.