Post by BobHello,
Just thought I'd ask here and see how you other folks are handling this
"annoyance".
Live in a Suburb of Boston, and have National Grid for our gas service.
They have been after me the last few weeks to allow their service man to
replace our gas meter.
Very hard for me to take a morning or afternoon off, now.
They only schedule as "sometime in AM", or "sometime in afternoon".
Also, I don't want my wife to be without heat for the hour it will take
them to do it.
Really surprised that they even want to in the winter.
They keep saying it's a Mass State requirement, has to be done, etc.
Anyway, what happens if I just tell them "no, until Spring time" ?
Any ramifications if I do ? What can they do; anything ?
I live in Burlington and Grid has been calling me since September
for a meter replacement. My meter was last replaced in late 2004, and
this was only because the regulator (just upstream of the meter) went
bad and despite me telling Keyspan what the problem was on the phone,
they insisted sending someone whose only skill was replacing meters. It
took five (5) scheduled services and cancellations to replace the meter,
which of course didn't fix the problem. Then they needed to schedule a
gasfitter for another day.
All six visits entailed a five (5) or more hour window with me stuck
under house arrest until they decided to (not) show. After being stood
up the first time, I got smarter and called them early in the window.
Each time they told me they're coming, they're coming... And each time
when they didn't, they told me oh, they're busy with gas leaks, too bad
for you. They could NOT have cared any less about their customer taking
time off repeatedly from work so they could not show up.
Fast forward five years and the name has now changed to National
Grid. When they started pestering me this fall, I said I'd think about
it and pointed out their pattern of repeated no-shows for 5 hour service
windows scheduled at THEIR convenience. After a few phone calls from
their Brooklyn call center, I asked if it could wait until summer, and
pointed out that the "5-7 years" aren't even up yet. The agent said I'd
have to talk to Wilson (or similar name). I asked who the heck is
Wilson, and does he have a first name? The answer was "the boss" and
no, he doesn't, just like McLovin in Superbad.
I figured they need to replace the meter because it isn't spinning
fast enough. I upgraded to a super efficient furnace at the same time
they replaced the meter in 2004, so their computer probably noticed my
gas consumption plummeted and blamed their meter for the profit decrease.
I wouldn't let them touch anything in the winter, unless it was an
dire emergency. Who knows what can go wrong and an interruption to gas
while they fix it now wouldn't be funny. They'd have to dig an
extensive trench through the tundra to even get near the meter anyway.
I can't find any references for a state mandatory 5-7 replacement
schedule. It makes sense that they would need replacement periodically,
but 5-7 years sounds a bit frequent, and a legal deadline would be a
fixed number, no 5-7 range nonsense. Water meters seem to last 12 years
or more, and they have corrosive water running through them all the
time. I have a suspicion those getting priority for gas meter
replacement have smaller gas bills then average. I'll be the new meters
can "fix" that!
With all of those aforementioned gas leaks, I'd say Grid has other
problems to worry themselves about then your meter or mine. I smell gas
all over town in the streets and sidewalks, and make a point of telling
them about it. Once in a while they may decide to investigate.
This is the same company that billed Massachusetts rate payers for
the CEO's children's private school tuition bill and shipping his
private wine collection from Britain to the US. It is also the same
company that signed a sweetheart deal to buy Cape Wind power for far
above market prices and got state approval quid pro quo for a
significant contribution to Deval Patrick's re-election campaign.
"Patrick's campaign reported the donations to the state on Dec. 18, but
initially failed to include donors' affiliation with National Grid."
"A week before Patrick attended the wine-and-cheese party at the office
of National Grid's lobbyist, the state's utility commissioners approved
a $44 million rate increase for the utility."
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/09/16/coakley_calls_for_audit_of_gas_rates/
http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1313463
http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/3752669
These are the clowns you entrust to transport gas under your streets and
yard. Feel safe?