dpb double-quoted the following for some reason:

The meter was read correctly - to the extent that the reader
entered the correct numbers into a large handheld device of
some sort.

You wouldn't think that there would be any other human hands
touching the data after that point, at any other point in the
chain that leads to the preparation of my monthly bill.

Your previous posting said (at least that's that I thought it said)
you had confirmed it to have been a transcription error

I talked to the guy that runs the metering department. I don't know
exactly what his title is, something like Senior meter technician or
some sort.

He looked at my account on his computer and called up the last few meter
readings. These are the numbers displayed on the meter, which are NOT
the actual kWh. To get the kWh, you take those numbers and multiply by
80.

The number that he had for my May reading was 47. But on the invoice
that I get in the mail, the number showing was 87.

This guy running the meter department does have access to what I would
have been seeing on my bill. I think he said it was a different
computer system that generates the bill I get in the mail. He claimed
that just by what he can see, he can't tell me if there is a
transcription or billing error because he doesn't have access to my
bill. He told me what my bill *should* say, and that if it doesn't say
that, then there's a problem somewhere.

I then talked to someone in the mail customer-support dept, and told
them that my bill said (87) and your main guy in the meter dept (I
mentioned him by name) said that the bill should say (47). After a few
minutes on hold, I was told that I'd either get a call back (I guess
telling me that their 87 was right) or I wouldn't get a call-back but
that I'd receive a new invoice in the mail.

I haven't yet got a call back, so I assume I'll be getting a new invoice
next week.

They basically don't want to admit to any error, at least not over the
phone.

Utility operators can be cagey buggers in this regard.

Other possibility is that whatever the transfer mechanism is from
the reader's collection to the central billing computer is error-
prone. Do you know how/what technology they're using?

I'd have to take a really close look at the hand-held device the meter
reader is using the next time he comed to do a read. I have a
snow-balls chance in hell to pose your question to the customer service
dept and actually get an answer.

Would be interesting to find out what final resolution turns out
to be...as another poster noted and I had mentioned before, the
earlier real outlier value seems as though should have similar
explanation and perhaps a billing credit if hasn't somehow been
otherwise corrected.

I'm going to look into that earlier reading and see how those numbers
jive with the expected numbers. I'll probably also call the senior
meter tech and see if he has the read values for that month as well.