Setting Up High / Low Factors
When consumption estimation is done for the purpose of meter read validity, the system checks if the meter read's consumption is reasonable. The High / Low Meter Read algorithm type (HILO-FACTBL) supplied with the base package uses the factors defined in this table to calculate the high / low values.
High and low factors are defined for every measurable unit of measure (UOM) and read type combination. The word measurable was underlined because some UOMs exist purely for pricing purposes and are never measured by a meter (e.g., a therm of gas).
For more information, refer to High / Low Checks.
To define high / low factors, open
Description of Page
Enter the Unit of Measure (UOM) for which the high / low factors are used.
Enter the Read Type for which the high / low factors are used. Valid values are: Billing Force, Customer Read, Office Estimate, No Read, Service Provider Estimate, System Estimate, Regular, and Verified.
Enter the Low Factor for the UOM and Read Type. This value will be multiplied by estimated consumption to derive the acceptable low value of a meter read with this UOM and read type.
Enter the High Factor for the UOM and Read Type. This value will be multiplied by estimated consumption to derive the acceptable high value of a meter read with this UOM and read type.
Where Used
This information is used by the High / Low Meter Read algorithm type (HILO-FACTBL) when the system calculates the low and high consumption amounts against which a meter read's consumption is compared when the read is added to the system.
Detecting Theft Of Service. When the status of a meter is Off, the system sets the high and low read values equal to the previous register read. This catches any consumption activity at the service point after a meter has been turned off. However, for some implementations, a small amount of consumption trickle at the service point is acceptable. In this case, you would want to relax the high/low thresholds so that the reads are not constantly flagged to have failed high/low validation. To do this, you can add the Always Estimate And Apply High/Low Factors Option Type under Meter Management Options Feature Configuration and set its value to Y .