What your AHJ wants is similar to what we do in Reno. When I have a feed to several meters, I use a gutter above them. I never considered using EMT; apart from local code requiring RMC/IMT, it neve made sense to me to run EMT to a panel or myers' hub. If nothing else, a compression fitting atop a hub looks awkward to me.
Now- for those who never run rigid- I reccomend a cheap pipe die, for cleaning the excess zinc off of the threads.
