RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond's Department of Public Utilities (DPU) announced Tuesday that an equipment failure led to the corruption of utility meter reading data for some neighbors on Richmond's Southside.
DPU delayed billing to impacted customers to prevent incorrect bills, a news release says.
Less than 5,000 impacted customers will be receiving a single, correct bill reflecting the previous and current billing period.
DPU's news release says the combined bill will only include base fees for one month, which means the average customer will see a reduction of $40 to $50, about 15%.
“Our goal is to deliver best in class service to our customers. That starts with consistent and reliable billing, but that doesn’t mean issues won’t arise. Service rises to elite status, when we proactively correct issues and our customers can have confidence that we will do what it takes to get it right,” said Chief Administrative Officer Odie Donald II. “This small adjustment is the first step in building that transparency and trust with our customers.”
DPU says this month's bill will reflect usage fees for both the previous and current billing cycle and base fees for one billing cycle. No late fees will be charged.
"DPU is also enhancing its meter reading technology for the vehicles that collect utility meter data to improve reliability. That new equipment has been purchased and will be tested and installed over the next several weeks citywide. DPU is committed to serving our customers and ensuring billing accuracy, I am very appreciative to the staff that have worked tirelessly to resolve this as quickly as possible. DPU continues to enhance our billing and utility infrastructure citywide, all of our customers will continue to benefit from better, more efficient technology,” said DPU Director Scott Morris.
Any customers with questions can contact the DPU Customer Care Center by calling 804-646-4646 or emailing dpucustserv@rva.gov.
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