Man disputes $11,857 bill from PG&E

[The Straight Story]

Man disputes $11,857 bill from PG&E


It may be the biggest PG&E bill in Kern County. A business owner contacted 17 News after PG&E sent him a bill for nearly $12,000 for a piece of farm equipment that hasn't been running on any electricity for the past three months.

Brent Paul owns Paul Farms with his brother and dad. He says this month's bill to run his gyp-silo, a farm silo that mixes calcium into soil, is so ridiculously high, it's comical. In past years, the electric bills have ranged from $26 to around $80, but after a new SmartMeter was installed, that bill shot up to $11,857.99

"It's just proof that the SmartMeter is not very smart," Paul told 17 News.

"My reaction was, 'woah, you got to be kidding me. I think there is something wrong with that smart meter,'" Paul explained.

Paul farms own a lot of gyp-silos, and that motor there takes about 110 volts of electricity to run. That's about what it takes to run a standard vacuum. That's why the owners of the farm say PG&E's math just doesn't add up.

On top of that, Paul's September bills usually average around $30 a month because the motor is never used.

"It's completely turned off," Paul said pointing at the motor that was about 12 inches wide. "We haven't even used them this summer. It's completely turned off so its not even using electricity. And even if it was, it would just be like having a light bulb on."

http://www.kget.com/news/local/story/Man-disputes-11-857-bill-from-PG-E/CWMFzCRF30-rmQ5ygd2moQ.cspx

[Kadie]

1. They want him to pay half while he disputes it.

Oh my...

Good luck to him.

[tabatha]

4. He should pay the same as last month's bill.

[juno jones]

2. PG and E

Need I say more. you know what I mean, Californians, ;)

Thank the gods most of my CA years were serviced by SMUD, my local socialist public utility.

[Xithras]

3. SMUD doesn't use smartmeters yet?

Our own socialist public utility, MID, has recently started installing them, and people are seeing billing spikes of 50% to 150%

[Speck Tater]

5. My PUD installed smart meters a year ago and my bills are down since then. nt

[TheCentepedeShoes]

6. Back in the 80's

a friend of mine got a $6K bill from Tampa Electric for his apartment
Now granted he did leave the lights and TV on for the cats while he was gone, but still...
He went to the TECO office to dispute the charge and the bright young thing behind the counter suggested he just go ahead and pay the bill while they worked it out
Fortunately he had a sense of humor so no bodily harm or other mayhem took place
To her suggestion he said he just replied "Uh.....NO"
When he told me what had happened he asked:
What if it hadn't been me, but some "old people" (we were in our 30's) who got the bill and might just have been too afraid to not "go ahead and pay"