In a startling revelation, a resident of California discovered he had been footing the bill for his neighbour's electricity for over 15 years. According to ABC News, Ken Wilson is a Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) customer who has lived alone in an apartment complex in Vacaville since 2006. His suspicions were raised when his bills seemed unusually high, despite his best efforts to reduce energy consumption. An inquiry by the local power company uncovered the shocking mistake, exposing the 15-year mix-up that had Mr Wilson unknowingly shouldering the financial burden of his neighbour’s electricity usage all along.
Before the discovery, Mr Wilson ha been taking proactive steps to reduce his soaring electricity bills by cutting back on usage and purchasing a device to track the wattage of his appliances. Despite these efforts, he noticed his meter bill continued to rise, even when his breaker was switched off.
''I've been trying to conserve electricity and lower my costs because it was getting really expensive. I kept going outside to check my meter… and I couldn't believe it. Even after I turned off my breakers, I kept going outside to check my meter to see if it was still running and it was still running,'' Mr Wilson told local TV station KMAX/KOVR.
Suspicious, he contacted Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) to investigate, presenting his findings and the measures he had taken to reduce usage. PG&E launched an inquiry and ultimately confirmed his suspicions. Turns out, he had been inadvertently paying his neighbour's electricity bill since 2009, three years after moving into his apartment.
"Our preliminary investigation has found the meter number for the customer's apartment was being billed to another apartment since potentially 2009," a spokesperson for PG&E said. ''We sincerely apologize for the oversight and regret any inconvenience caused by the duration of this issue,'' the spokesperson added.
PG&E acknowledged and accepted responsibility for the mistake, assuring Mr Wilson that they would rectify the issue.
