A Pennsylvania homeowner was left on the ropes financially after a billing mix-up. Following months of back-and-forth with their utility provider, they received a $6,500 electricity bill.
Here's what to know
The problems began after electrical work at their newly purchased property, leaving them in "a year's worth of hell," the homeowner said in Reddit's r/askanelectrician community.
Removing the off-hours meters and reworking the panel meant their energy provider began billing them for the incorrect amount. The original poster reached out and believed the issue was fixed.
Then, they noticed their bills dropped. This time around, they thought it was because they weren't using their gas AC units or mini-split system.
But they later learned that the utility company had been reading the wrong meter and billed them for the outstanding $6,500 in one fell swoop.
"This is going to end us financially," the homeowner said. "They were double billing, then not billing, then correcting, they shut off our power one day randomly with no warning. … I need to figure out what is drawing so much power in our home."
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More background
The homeowner said their household includes two children, ages 4 and 3, with another baby on the way in December. The home has a well that's been out of commission for 30 years, ruling out the possibility that a well pump was the culprit behind the energy drain. The 1,500-square-foot century-old twin home has three bedrooms.
In the comments, they posted two photos of their digital meters, and one person said that their consumption of 547 kWh over two weeks wasn't a major red flag.
After further discussion, though, the poster said that they paid $0.11759 per kWh, and that raised alarm bells.
"Something is quite literally not adding up here," a commenter asserted.
"You used 547kWh, so at $0.118/kWh that's $65 of electricity," they continued. "So you would expect a bill around $130, maybe $160 or so with base charges."
Instead, the original poster was paying around $450 over 14 days.
What can be done?
An electrician advised the OP to install a home energy monitor to identify where all the power was going. As several noted, the problem could have an unexpected source.
"I had a compressor go bad on a dehumidifier which was causing me $100 a month just for that," one person shared. "It was nice having a smart device to narrow it down."
Another asked whether the main breaker had been turned off to see if anything was suspicious about their meter, to which the OP replied, "There were two separate numbers at one point."
"2 numbers would indicate you had 2 meters being read and charged to you," someone concluded.
In the meantime, the OP continued to reach out to the state utility commission and its representatives. One commenter also suggested they should call an electrician to check for faulty wiring.
Where can I learn more?
Steep electricity bills can be tied to suspected or confirmed meter problems.
• In Texas, a renter's $300 electricity bill raised concerns about a possible meter mix-up.
• A New York homeowner's old meter charged for exports before solar approval.
• Louisiana residents said bills fell after rechecks while questioning a $255 utility charge.
• After meter trouble, a homeowner's power use more than doubled before a 26.8-kW solar quote.
• A Hawaiʻi renter's $550 electricity bill reflected two homes sharing a single electricity meter.
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