Richmond DPU corrects water bills after equipment failure

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Richmond’s Department of Public Utilities (DPU) is correcting water bills for nearly 5,000 customers after an equipment failure in October caused inaccurate meter readings.

DPU Director Scott Morris said outdated technology led to the failures but credited his team for acting quickly to resolve the issue.

“My staff has been doing an exceptional job,” Morris said, noting that the department has strengthened accountability and improved through practice and action.

Instead of waiting for customer complaints, staff proactively delayed billing to ensure account accuracy before sending bills.

While the affected customers represent less than 2% of DPU’s 230,000 total customers, Morris said the department wanted to remain transparent about the issue.

As compensation, impacted customers received a $40 to $50 reduction in their base charge, which combined two bills into one.

To prevent future problems, DPU is upgrading its mobile meter reading vehicles to improve communication between encoders and individual meters. The vehicles collect signals from meters that are used for billing purposes.

Customers can expect these updates to be in place by the end of the year.