In a shocking revelation, a California resident discovered that he had been paying his neighbor’s electricity bill for 15 years. ABC News, Ken Wilson is a Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) customer who has lived alone in an apartment complex in Vacaville since 2006. He became suspicious when his bills were unusually high, even though he had made great efforts to reduce his energy consumption. An investigation by the local power company revealed a shocking mistake, revealing 15 years of irregularities that had left Mr. Wilson unwittingly shouldering the financial burden of his neighbor’s electricity use, the report said.
Prior to this discovery, Mr. Wilson had taken proactive steps to reduce his rising electric bill by cutting back on his electricity use and purchasing a device to track the wattage of his appliances. Despite these efforts, he noticed that his meter bill continued to rise, even when his breaker was off.
”I’m trying to save electricity and cut down my costs because it was getting so expensive. I kept going outside to check my meter … and I couldn’t believe it. Even when 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 & Electric (PG&E) to investigate, presenting his findings and the measures he had taken to reduce usage. PG&E began investigating and eventually confirmed his suspicions. Turns out, he had been unknowingly paying his neighbor’s electric bill since 2009, three years after he moved into his apartment.
A PG&E spokesperson said, “Our initial investigation found that the customer’s apartment’s meter number had been billed to another apartment, possibly as early as 2009.” “We sincerely apologize for this oversight and regret any inconvenience caused by the duration of the issue,” the spokesperson added.
PG&E accepted responsibility for the error and assured Mr. Wilson that they would correct the problem.
