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Consumer Rights Protection Center (PTAC) initiated usage monitoring checks on water consumption meters in the entrances of residential buildings in Latvian cities in 2021 to gain an objective overview of the overall condition of meters in the water sector.

From 2021 to July 2023, PTAC conducted checks in 23 cities, examining 201 meters located in the entrances of residential buildings. Of these, 58 meters were removed for extraordinary verification. The results indicate that out of 201 checked meters, 33 meters or 16% were found non-compliant with metrological requirements.

The most common reason for non-compliance was that 20 meters were declared unfit for use as a result of extraordinary verification (a total of 58 meters were removed).

The second most common reason for non-compliance was that 11 meters did not adhere to the periodicity of repeated verification. Companies often fail to observe the periodicity of repeated verification for meters that need to undergo it for the first time, as the deadline for repeated verification should be determined based on the year of applying the metrological additional marking. Companies tend to consider the day when the meter is put into use as the starting point for the repeated verification period, which is inappropriate.

PTAC notes that mechanical filters before meters were installed in 89% of cases, indicating that service providers are trying to improve water quality and ensure more accurate water consumption accounting. The results of extraordinary verifications also confirm that the use of mechanical filters ensures more accurate measurements, as the meters found non-compliant did not exceed an error of more than 15% in any case. Also, after removing the meters from the home entrance, it was not observed that the meters were significantly contaminated with various impurities, as PTAC noted in cases where mechanical filters were not installed.

At the same time, PTAC highlights that it has repeatedly received complaints from residents about inappropriate meter replacement in apartments, replacing only the measuring mechanism or the digit mechanism during installation.

PTAC urges residents to pay attention to meter replacement and service quality.