Power Shut off After Woman owes a 'Penny '

[katty]

more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/power_off_penny

Power Shut Off After Woman Owes a Penny Tue May 16, 6:42 PM ET

FLINT, Mich. - It was just a penny, but to Consumers Energy it was enough to cut off power in a local home. Jacqueline Williams, 41, of Flint had an electricity bill of $1,662.08 and paid all of it, except for one cent. That wasn't enough for the power company, which blacked her out for seven hours Wednesday.

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The CMS Energy Corp. subsidiary told Williams the power would not be turned on until the penny was received.

"I went down there, paid my penny and got a receipt," Williams told The Flint Journal.

Shortly after, the electricity was turned back on.

[ThomCat]

1. Strict adherence to rules, to the point of absurdity...

You have to wonder if people have lost the ability to think....

Or if everything is now so automated and cast into such rigid proceedures that people aren't given the opportunity to think.

[katty]

2. lost ability, don't want to bother, absurd zombie behavior

[tulsakatz]

3. that was pretty ridiculous....

...after I heard about it though, I wondered why she didn't just go outside and ask someone if they would give her a penny. Pennies are pretty much worthless anymore, I bet someone would have given her a penny.

[Coyote_Bandit]

4. I wonder how many pennies it cost

to pay workers to turn the power off, process that one cent payment, and then to turn the power back on a few hours later?

[w4rma]

5. They probably charged her a fee for it too. (nt)

[Sherman A1]

6. Might be absured...

But doesn't an electric bill of $1662.08 seem just a tad high? Could we have been chronically past due? Seems like there is more than meets the immediate whiplash reaction here....