A Colorado man from Superior was trying to get his electricity bill down to a more manageable cost when he discovers a huge mistake that has been going back 16 years. After further investigation, he notices the meter number on his bill matched the number found on his neighbor's meter, and has been incorrect since the construction of the townhomes. He has lived in the townhome for 16 years.
One man tried what he could to reduce his energy consumption in an effort to reduce his monthly electricity costs but try as he may, he couldn't make a dent in it. So, he looked into it further and found something very interesting.
Colorado Man in Townhome Discovers Xcel Energy Billing Error
9News reported that Austin Todd from Superior, Colorado could not reduce his electricity bill after years of trying to reduce his bill, so he looked into it further. He identified which meter was for his home in a row of meters for the townhomes, and then checked that the meter number on his Xcel Energy bill was the same number on his meter. That's when he made a big discovery.
He said:
“The meter number listed on my bill matched my neighbor’s meter," he said. “It’s been wrong since the construction of these townhomes, which were basically built around the year 2000. So over two decades. I, myself, have lived here since 2006, so about 16 years." -Austin Todd, Excel Energy customer
The "billing error" has been ongoing for 16 years, and Xcel Energy sent him a spreadsheet of what should have been billed versus what was billed.
For example, in January 2023 he was invoiced and paid $241 when the bill should have been only $54.
9News reported that Xcel Energy is refunding Austin Todd $1,600 for the last two years, despite the billing error and he has been overpaying for the last 16 years.
He said:
“I haven’t seen it fixed on a bill yet. I’m assuming that [at] the end of this month, May’s bill will show a correctly assigned gas meter to my billing account.” -Austin Todd, Excel Energy customer
Austin is not okay with the fact that Excel Energy only wants to refund him for the past two years after this has been ongoing for 16 years.
He said:
“I’m going to speak with them and tell them I’m not agreeable to this," Todd said. "I would hope that they would have, even going back at least a decade or so.” -Austin Todd, Excel Energy customer
Hopefully, Mr. Todd will be able to get a fair resolution to this situation and his electricity bill will be corrected going forward.
Thoughts
Let's hear from the readers, especially those that are Xcel Energy customers.
- Have you ever had any issues with Excel Energy bills?
- Have you received a smart meter installed at your home? Any issues?
(Share your thoughts in the comments section)
Please share this article on social media so family and friends can stay informed on this issue.
Sources
Xcel Energy's official Facebook page.
Zelinger, Marshall. "After being billed wrong for 16 years, this Xcel customer's only getting a 2-year refund." 9News. 25 May 2023.
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