Detroit losing MILLIONS because it buys CHEAP BATTERIES

Detroit losing MILLIONS because it buys CHEAP BATTERIES – report • The Register:
"But such frugality has a price, city sources say, because the discount batteries that Detroit is using now don't do the job as well as the name-brand alkaline cells the city used before budget cuts took effect.
As a result – according to the office of the emergency manager, whose thankless job it is to oversee the city's ongoing fiscal crisis – on any given day, nearly half of Detroit's parking meters aren't working.
It's not just that the cheap batteries don't last as long. 
Apparently, they're also more sensitive to temperature, particularly when Detroit's frigid winters hit.
In icy conditions, they may give out significantly less than the full 9-volt charge, which can play havoc with parking meters' fussy circuitry.
On an 8.2-volt charge, a meter might take money but not give out any parking time, and at 8 volts it will stop working altogether, one meter repairman told the Detroit News."