SALT LAKE CITY ā Some Utahns are discovering that their utility bills don’t match their usage. In some cases, it’s leading to sticker shock.
Cambron White lives in a condo. Sure, he uses some gas, but not a lot. So, when he received a very hefty gas bill out of the blue, he was stunned.
“I just got a bill from the gas company that was about $478,” White said.
With the bill came a letter with this explanation: “The meter measuring your gas usage ā¦ was crossed with a meter measuring your neighbor’s usage.”
Someone else’s mistake
White has been paying for his neighbor’s gas for more than a year. Apparently, his neighbor used less gas because now the gas company is coming after White for the difference.
“They’re making me pay more because I used more,” he said.
He was being under-charged by the gas company because of someone else’s mistake.
“I called them and they said it was the contractor’s fault,” said White. “But the contractor who put the gas meter in was them.”
When the gas company refused to budge, White decided to Get Gephardt.
Crossed meters do happen and it’s not just with gas. I reported on it most recently last fall when a Tooele man, John Gardner, discovered he’d been overcharged on power for 17 years. In that case, the power company would only offer to refund him for two years’ worth of overpayment.
“That’s nice, but what about the other 15 years?” Gardner said.
Backbilling rules
The bad news for homeowners and renters is that, when it comes to crossed meters, rules from Utah’s Public Service Commission are narrow. If you are undercharged, the utility can bill you going back 24 months from the time they discover the mistake. Likewise, if you paid too much, they’re only required to refund you for up to two years.
I reached out to the gas company, Enbridge Gas, on White’s behalf. Citing “privacy reasons,” they would not comment about his issue, but in an email, a spokesperson said such issues are the fault of the builder.
“Crossed meters occur during the building process when a builder’s plumbing and heating contractors install the fuel lines,” said Enbridge ā who said lines are sometimes mislabeled.
Enbridge Gas insists it does not “have the ability or right to inspect, fix or relabel” fuel lines.
“I feel like the issue should have been dealt with as soon as this (his condo) was built,” said White.
White did hear from Enbridge after the KSL Investigators reached out to them. The gas company tells him they expect him to pay that big, unexpected bill. But they’re willing to work with him on a payment plan.
“It doesn’t feel fair,” said White. “No.”
Are you paying for your neighbor’s gas?
I asked the gas company how someone might know if their meters are crossed with their neighbors. I was told, “Keep a close eye on (your) bill for any indications” that something is wrong.
But typically, issues like this come to light after a neighbor has moved out and then your gas gets shut off, out of the blue.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.