Man Learns He's Been Paying Neighbor's Electric Bill for Nearly 20 Years — Here's What Happened
A California resident recently noticed that his electric bill was higher than normal and could not figure out why
A California man got a pricey surprise decades in the making, when he recently realized that he had been paying someone else’s electric bill for close to 20 years.
Ken Wilson of Vacaville, Calif., recently noticed that his electric bill was higher than normal and decided to take steps to get the monthly fee back down. That’s when upon further investigation by the local power company, it was revealed that the bill he had been paying wasn’t his at all.
Per CBS affiliate KOLD-TV, Wilson explained when he realized something was wrong. “I’ve been trying to conserve electricity and lower my costs because it was getting really expensive,” Wilson said. “I kept going outside to check my meter… and I couldn’t believe it.”
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Wilson, who has lived in the same apartment complex since 2006, logged onto Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E) website and couldn’t understand why his bill was so high. “I thought there was a leak or someone was stealing my electricity or the meter was faulty because something wasn’t right,” he told KOLD.
Wilson lives in unit 91, but had been paying the electric bill for the neighboring apartment, unit 90, PG&E confirmed when they visited Wilson’s complex to check his power meter.
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“I feel powerless right now because I can’t control my own meter,” Wilson said in an interview with CBS affiliate KOVR.
In a statement issued to the outlet, PG&E said, “We sincerely apologize for the oversight and regret any inconvenience caused by the duration of this issue.”
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“I just hope that this story is going to help others, I can be the only one,” Wilson told KOVR.
PG&E informed Wilson that his electric bill should be corrected on his next billing cycle, KOVR reported.
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