Virginia Law

Each owner shall have a testing program the primary purpose of which is to maintain an acceptable degree of accuracy during the service life of the equipment. All submetering equipment shall be tested in accordance with the provisions of ANSI C12.1 or ANSI B109. All energy allocation equipment shall be tested in accordance with manufacturer's suggested testing procedures and practices for such equipment.

No submeter shall be placed in service until its percentage registration has been established. This may be accomplished either through the engagement of a qualified expert or by a certificate provided by the manufacturer. All submeters shall be adjusted as close as possible to the condition of 100% registration. No electric submeter that exceeds the test calibration limits for watt-hour meters as set forth by ANSI C12.1 shall be placed in service or left in service. No natural gas submeter that exceeds the test calibration limits for meters as set forth by ANSI B109 shall be placed in service or left in service.

Whenever a submeter is found to exceed these limits, it shall be adjusted.

Energy allocation equipment shall be adjusted to the manufacturer's specifications before being placed in service.

If any submetering or energy allocation equipment is removed from service or replaced by other equipment for any purpose whatsoever, it shall be properly tested and adjusted before being placed in service again.

The owner shall keep and maintain the following records:

1. A record of all submetering or energy allocation equipment, showing the equipment number and location (the tenant's address where installed or if in reserve) in the apartment house, office building, shopping center, or campground.

2. The record of each test made shall show the identifying number of the equipment, the standard number and other necessary devices used, the date and kind of test made, by whom, the percentage registration at each load tested for submetering equipment, the accuracy level of the parameter measured by the energy allocation equipment, and sufficient data to permit verification of the calculations.

3. A record of all the portable standards and reference standards used to test equipment. Test equipment shall at all times be accompanied by a certified calibration card signed by the proper authority, giving the date when it was last certified and adjusted. Records of certifications and calibrations of all standards shall be kept on file in the office of the owner.

The aforementioned records for each dwelling, nonresidential rental unit, or campsite shall be made available, upon request, to the tenant of that unit during reasonable business hours at the resident manager's office or, if there is no resident manager, at the dwelling, nonresidential rental unit, or campsite of the tenant at the convenience of the owner and tenant. The owner of the building or campground may impose and collect a reasonable charge for copying documents, reflecting the actual costs of materials and labor for copying, prior to providing copies of the records to the tenant.

All records shall be made available to the commission upon request.