LAKE COUNTY — The Lake County Department of Weights and Measures was recently able to save a Middletown resident money on her propane bill.
Weights and Measures aims to make the marketplace fair and equitable for everyone, according to a department employee.
Caren Beine noticed her Ferrellgas bill for her apartment seemed rather high.
“Ferrellgas was overbilling me,” she said.
Beine said she went online to find some help. She made numerous phone calls before finally contacting Weights and Measures. She spoke with Drew Tritchler, a Weights and Measures Inspector.
Tritchler said Weights and Measures inspects commercial devices such as gas pumps and grocery store scales, checking them to make sure they are correct.
“The scale has to be applicable to the task at hand, that”s what ”correct” means,” Tritchler said.
He said the department also inspects electrical and propane sub meters at apartment buildings and trailer parks, making sure they are working correctly. Tritchler said Beine contacted him regarding this.
“I inspected her bill to make sure certain elements were in place,” he said. Those elements included before and after readings, price-per-cubic-foot and an altitude correction factor.
Tritchler said the altitude correction factor is used because of the county”s higher elevation level.
“Propane expands at higher altitudes, so there has to be an altitude correction factor,” Tritchler said. Lake County”s altitude correction factor is 0.98, meaning 100 cubic feet of propane at sea level is 98 cubic feet in Lake County, he said.
When he was inspecting Beine”s bill, Tritchler said he noticed Ferrellgas was using a number to multiply her gas usage, which was called a “volume pressure multiplier.” Tritchler said the volume pressure multiplier had a value of 1.6666. He said Ferrelgas was multiplying her usage by that number, charging her for 163 cubic feet of propane, rather than for 98 cubic feet.
“It didn”t make sense,” Tritchler said.
He said the volume pressure multiplier number seemed like an anomaly and he contacted Ferrellgas to let them know. He discovered the number was put in erroneously.
“It turns out, the 1.6666 would be used if the tank was operating at 10 PSI (pounds per square inch),” he said. When large propane tanks are used for apartment complexes or trailer park homes, Tritchler said the pressure in the tank is reduced two times by pressure regulators to a low number to prevent rupturing.
Beine said Ferrellgas credited her account back for $650 because of the erroneous charges.
Scott Brockelmeyer, a Ferrellgas marketing and communications representative, said the company erred when setting up Beine”s account, which caused her to be overbilled.
“We set up her account incorrectly in our system,” Brockelmeyer said. “Weights and Measures alerted us to the situation. That”s what prompted us to hone in on the problem. We”ve corrected the problem and we certainly understand the customer”s frustration.”
Beine said Weights and Measures was great to work with and praised Tritchler.
“He was awesome,” Beine said.
Tritchler said Beine”s situation was not common, though a similar situation occurred around eight or nine years ago at a Lakeport trailer park where everyone was being overcharged. He said the residents were given rebates.
Tritchler said he was glad to help Beine save some money.
Kevin N. Hume can be reached at kevin.n.hume@gmail.com or call directly 263-5636 ext. 14. Follow on Twitter: @KevinNHume.
