ANDERSON, Ind. (AP) — For six months, June Allen
carefully reviewed her bill from Anderson city utilities, discovering
she had not been charged for electric usage since Jan. 1.
Sitting
in her home on Lawrence Way, Allen has carefully documented her utility
bills from the city and finally went to the utility office to resolve
the issue.
Allen said the problem started when the city replaced
her electric meter with one that was supposed to automatically transmit
the readings to the utility for billing purposes.
"I hadn’t paid an electric bill for six months," she told The Herald Bulletin (http://bit.ly/1tI7toS ).
Allen’s
bill for six months showed all zeroes when it came to the previous,
current and usage totals. All that was included in the bill was a $5.84
meter charge.
Armed with her own reading of the meter from June 1 to June 30, which showed usage at 369, she went to
the utility office.
Without
reading her meter, it was determined that Allen owed a catch-up bill of
$429.70. She agreed to pay $71.62 for the next six months.
Her average utility bill was in the range of $50 to $80 per month and the December bill was for $73.71.

The
history of her billing for electric use showed a zero on Dec. 13, an
adjustment on the same date to usage of 669 and then nothing for the
first six months of 2014.
"I delayed," Allen said of informing the
city utility. "I waited six months. I wanted to see how long it would
take for the city to discover the problem."
Allen said because she is an honest person she wanted the problem corrected.
"I didn’t want to get a bill that was in the thousands," she said. "I didn’t win the
lottery.
"How many other people are not paying for electric since the new meter was changed?" Allen
said.
She
also expressed dismay at the fact the meter charge of $5.84 is hidden
in the electric bill and that it’s increasing to $10 per month in
August.
"I didn’t know I was paying a meter charge," Allen said.
Pete
Heuer, chairman of the Anderson Board of Public Works, said there have
been a few problems with the electric readings since the meters were
installed.
"Not that many people have had a problem," he said. "Like with any new system, there have
been some glitches."
Heuer
urged utility customers who are getting estimated bills or not being
charged for electric usage to contact the utility office at 648-6187.
In
2006 the city entered into a contract with Wisconsin-based Johnson
Control to replace the 23,500 water and 37,000 electric meters at a cost
of $21 million.
Those meters were supposed to relay
electronically the amount of water and electricity used for monthly
billing purposes and to communicate problems directly to the utility
office.
Problems began to surface in 2008 and increased in 2009, only accurate on 80 percent of the meter
readings.
The
city began working with the equipment manufacturer, Alcara, to replace
or repair the meters at no cost to the city. The meters are being
replaced by city crews.
All the meters are expected to be replaced or repaired by Aug. 26, 2015.
This is an AP Member Exchange shared by The Herald Bulletin.