39 Miss. Code. R. 3-4-51

100. LOCATIONS Customers shall provide a safe and adequate location for meters and regulators and no customer's meter shall be installed in any location where it may be exposed to traffic, where it would be difficult to maintain or read or where it would be exposed to any conditions that might cause its undue deterioration or affect its accuracy in normal service.

105. ACCURACY Every gas service meter whether new, repaired or removed from service for the purpose of repairing or testing, shall be in good order and shall be correct to within 2% before being installed for the use of any customer. A utility may rely upon the meter proof furnished by a meter company on each meter purchased or repaired, provided that a test check shall be made of at least 10% of each order to determine that said order is in accordance with the proof specified. Also, provided that a utility which has less than 500 customers in any single operation and which has no facilities for opening meter cases and adjusting the mechanism, it may put a meter back into service if it is not found to be in error by more than two per cent fast and appears otherwise to be in good order.

110. TESTING All tests to determine the accuracy of registration of any gas service meter shall be made with a suitable meter prover.

115. SPECIAL Any orifice meter, the readings or records of which are based on the differential pressure in such meter or upon the measurement of any portion of the total gas delivered to a consumer, shall be tested for accuracy before installation in a manner satisfactory to the Commission.

120. AVERAGE ERROR In tests made by the Commission or utility in response to customer complaints, the average error of a meter shall be defined as one-third of the algebraic sum of error at full load plus twice the error at light load or such other definitions as may be approved by the Commission.

125. PREPAYMENT METERS No utility shall use prepayment meters geared or set so as to cause a rate or amount higher than would be paid if a standard type meter were used except under such special rate schedule as may be approved by the Commission for this class of service.

130. PERIODIC TESTING

1. No gas service meter hereafter installed shall be allowed to remain in service more than twenty (20) years from the time when last tested. *

The Commission may relieve the utility from the requirements under this rule in any particular case in which it is shown that the failure to make the periodic test was due to causes beyond the control of the utility.

135. METER TEST BY THE COMMISSION

1. Upon written application to the Commission by a customer after reasonable notice to utility, a test will be made of the customer's meter as soon as practicable by a representative of the Commission. The application for such test shall be accompanied by a remittance of the amount fixed below as the fee for such test. This fee shall be retained by the Commission. However, if the meter is found to be more than three per cent fast, the utility shall repay to the customer the amount of the fee paid by the customer to the Commission for such meter test. No charges will be made by the Commission for test on a meter where such tests do not require extra traveling or other expense or where it is practical to make the test incident to other Commission work.

2. The amount of the fee to be paid for a meter test made by the Commission shall be as follows:

For each gas meter
not exceeding 1 1/4 inches or smaller ...............................................	$1.50
exceeding 1 1/4 inches ......................................................................	$2.50

An exception to the above fees will be that for large industrial type meters. The fee shall be based upon the expense to the Commission for making such test.

3. This rule shall not interfere with the practice of a utility with reference to its tests of gas service meters, except that in the event of any application by a customer to the Commission for a test as herein provided, the utility shall not knowingly remove, interfere with, or adjust the meter to be tested without the written consent of the customer, approved by the Commission.

140. REPLACEMENT OF METERS Whenever a customer requests the replacement of the service meter on his premises, such request shall be treated as a request for the test of such meter and shall fall under the provisions of Rule 11.120.

145. CHANGE OF LOCATION OF SERVICE Whenever a customer moves from the location where gas is used by him and thereby requires the disconnecting and connecting at a new location of the gas supply and the same work has been done for him within one year preceding, the utility may make a charge as set out in its rate schedules, tariffs or rules and regulations on file as approved by the Commission.

*Rule 51.G.(1) as amended by Order of the Commission in Docket 1993-UA-318, effective September 10, 1993. Rule 51.G.(1) is now known as Rule 51.130(1). (renumbering 2011).

Notes

39 Miss. Code. R. 3-4-51