Anyone "upgraded" their gas meter recently? Did you have to pay?

[jfreeman]

I'd especially like to hear from you if you're using Centerpoint in Houston. I am in the exact same situation that @rhawke was in in October 2018: I am a customer of Centerpoint Energy in Houston; I have a 400k BTU Pentair Mastertemp heater; and my gas connection cannot supply it with enough gas. I'm being told I need a "gas meter upgrade".

Countless people online are saying they got this upgrade for free. When I called Centerpoint, they asked for $350. Here's how @rhawke explained it:

Centerpoint called me this morning and I was glad that I had done a bunch of research. Instead of just telling them to upgrade my service, I explained all the equipment that I have and asked if they have to increase the line pressure to 2psi or if they also have larger volume meters at the existing low household pressure (0.25 psi). She then told me that upgrading the meter only for more volume at the current pressure is completely free of charge.

They only charge $350 when they have to change the meter to 2psi pressure and put in regulators further downstream to bring the pressure back to the typical 7" wc (=0.25 psi) the appliances use. Since the line from my meter to the gas heater is only 10ft and the heater is already running with the current meter, they said it will probably be enough to only switch the meter for more volume without increasing the pressure.

Apparently the reason why sometimes higher pressure is required is when the meter is far from the pool heater and the plumber does not want to put in a large diameter gas line. Instead of putting in the huge diameter gas line, they upgrade the pressure at the meter. Then they can continue that high pressure underground through a small diameter gas line all the way to the pool heater and reduce the pressure again with a regulator right in front of the pool heater.

I called Centerpoint just now with this information. After telling them, they went on hold, presumably asked someone and checked something, and then told me that I still need to pay $350 for a meter that can handle the increased volume, and that if I wanted higher pressure later on, I would need to pay an additional $350! Am I just being conned here? Is there anyone else with more recent experience or expertise that can advise me? I'm still waiting for word back from the contractor who installed the heater.

Other people in my neighborhood are telling me they got their meters upgraded by Centerpoint for free in 2017. Centerpoint said that when they make changes as part of regular maintenance, we're not charged for that.

What should I be looking for on my meter to see how old it is and what its capabilities are?

 

[thomasandanita]

did this last year. paid the 350 and now i can run everything at the same time. you should not ever have to upgrade it again.
smooth process just have to have someone home so they can re light the water heaters

 

[will]

They spent 3 days in my yard and no charge in Ga

 

[rphpool]

I upgraded when pool was built , $350, to run 400btu heater, 100btu grill, 2 fire bowls, house heater, gas stove, gas dryer. I have not had any issues with multiple appliances running so ,I guess well worth it.

 

[PoolGate]

No charge in MD! Installed new meter and high pressure port.

 

[jimmythegreek]

Depends on the supplier. We dont pay for the upgrade anywhere I've worked in NJ

 

[Tjs011]

I’m in Houston and didn’t upgrade my meter, have had no issues.. I have the same heater, along with gas grill, gas furnace, indoor range. No fire pit or fire features outside.. PB said it wouldn’t be necessary, so far he’s right.

 

[JJ_Tex]

No charge in Dallas either. I have the same 400k BTU heater + 2 gas furnaces, 2 50 gal gas water heaters, gas stove, gas grill, gas fireplace logs and never had a problem.

 

[markayash]

They spent 3 days in my yard and no charge in Ga

Atlanta gas light came out when I had heater problems and at first said I need a bigger meter then we found the line to the heater was twisted..He replaced it for no charge even though it wasn't their responsibility.
He did open a ticket and they did replace the meter a couple month later for no charge

 

[rhawke]

I'd especially like to hear from you if you're using Centerpoint in Houston. I am in the exact same situation that @rhawke was in in October 2018: I am a customer of Centerpoint Energy in Houston; I have a 400k BTU Pentair Mastertemp heater; and my gas connection cannot supply it with enough gas. I'm being told I need a "gas meter upgrade".

Countless people online are saying they got this upgrade for free. When I called Centerpoint, they asked for $350. Here's how @rhawke explained it:


I called Centerpoint just now with this information. After telling them, they went on hold, presumably asked someone and checked something, and then told me that I still need to pay $350 for a meter that can handle the increased volume, and that if I wanted higher pressure later on, I would need to pay an additional $350! Am I just being conned here? Is there anyone else with more recent experience or expertise that can advise me? I'm still waiting for word back from the contractor who installed the heater.

Other people in my neighborhood are telling me they got their meters upgraded by Centerpoint for free in 2017. Centerpoint said that when they make changes as part of regular maintenance, we're not charged for that.

What should I be looking for on my meter to see how old it is and what its capabilities are?

To be honest, I think I got lucky. The guy showed up, told me that just installing a bigger meter without upgrading the pressure wouldn't make any sense and so he decided to replace both the meter and upgrade the pressure which would typically cost $350. I never got a bill from them. So my guess is I got lucky and whoever scheduled the appointment for me messed up and the guy that showed up didn't care whether I had paid or not. He said he came out to do what needs to be done and that was it.

 

[emac0002]

I was also quoted $350 in the Houston area.

 

[BowserB]

Had to upgrade the CenterPoint meter in 2017 when I had a Kohler standby generator installed. No charge that I'm aware of (however, it could have been paid for by the generator installer and built into the price.) Meter was already up to the job when the pool was installed with Pentair Mastertemp 400 installed in 2018. I remember a promotion the CenterPoint ran for a while on certain whole house generators from certain installers. I don't recall the details. It seems like CenterPoint would want to upgrade the meter, as it would mean the customer is going to use more gas! I guess they prefer for it to be a double win for them: pay to install; pay to use.