On Apr 21, 4:58 pm, Mark Thorson > wrote:
> Sheldon wrote:
>
> > On Apr 21, 5:03?pm, Mark Thorson > wrote:
> > > Sheldon wrote:
>
> > > > $4.44 is a pretty puny electric bill... my minimum charge for no usage
> > > > is $15/mo. My typical electric bill is $175-$200/mo., and I don't
>
> > > Now that you mention it, I think there may be something
> > > wrong with my electric bill. $4.44 _is_ the minimum charge.
>
> > > I've heard that sometimes the utility company workers
> > > will skip reading the meter for a month or more, and
> > > then the customer can get hit with a real whopper
> > > of a bill. That might be the case here. Just what
> > > I need. :-(
>
> > The customer can choose to pay an actual reading or an
> > averaged electric bill. But regardless, nowhere on the
> > planet does anyone receive a $4.44 monthly electic bill.
>
> My meter is supposed to be read every month. I've
> heard that sometimes the meter readers get lazy and
> don't actually read the meter. Now that I think
> about it, I usually notice when the meter reader
> comes by, and I can't remember the last time that
> happened.
>
> However, $4.44 is indeed the minimum charge, and
> that is what I was billed. At some point, I may
> have a stupendous bill coming my way. I should
> read that meter myself, and take pictures. This
> could develop into a very unpleasant situation.


Here, we have electronic "readers" - the meter guy just aims his
little gizmo at the meter, and the gizmo reads it and records it. Oh,
wait, that's my water meter. Electric/gas is still to be converted.

I had a double-size electric/gas bill last winter, and it turned out
the reader read the meter wrong. Easy proof (power company foreman
lives next door, and read it himself) and easy revised bill.

N.