A California man has discovered that he has been unintentionally paying his neighbor’s electric bill for at least 15 years.
Ken Wilson, who lives in Vacaville between Sacramento and San Francisco, was concerned that his bill was higher than others, which didn’t make sense to him since he often tries to conserve energy, he told local TV station KMAX/KOVR.
“I’ve been trying to save electricity and reduce my costs because it was getting really expensive,” Wilson said.
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He eventually complained to the local utility, PG&E, which sent a worker to investigate. “I thought there was a leak or someone was stealing my electricity or the meter was bad because something wasn’t right,” Wilson said.
Instead, PG&E discovered that Wilson’s meter was tied to unit 91 in his building, not his own apartment, 90. Documents showed the situation had been going on since at least 2009.
PG&E apologized in a statement Monday, saying a preliminary investigation found that “the customer’s apartment meter number had been billed to another apartment since 2009.”
But Wilson told KMAX/KOVR that he moved into the apartment in 2006 and believes he’s been paying the wrong bill from the beginning — for 18 years in total. “I just hope this story helps others. I can’t be the only one,” he said.
But for now, Wilson is still paying his neighbor’s bill, as PG&E has said that can only be changed in the next billing cycle.
