Pennsylvania homeowner says a meter mistake led to a $6,500 utility charge

"This is going to end us financially."

A Pennsylvania homeowner says a billing error left their family in a difficult financial spot after months of dealing with their utility provider. The result was a $6,500 electricity bill.

What happened

The trouble started after electrical work was done at the family's newly purchased home, which the homeowner described as "a year's worth of hell" in Reddit's r/askanelectrician community.

After the off-hours meters were removed and the panel was reworked, the energy company began charging the household incorrectly. The original poster said they contacted the utility and believed the problem had been resolved.

Later, the bills suddenly dropped. At first, the homeowner assumed that was because they were not using their gas AC units or mini-split system.

They eventually learned, however, that the utility had been reading the wrong meter and then billed them all at once for the unpaid balance of $6,500.

"This is going to end us financially," the homeowner said. "They were double billing, then not billing, then correcting, they shut off our power one day randomly with no warning. … I need to figure out what is drawing so much power in our home."

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More background

The homeowner said the family includes two children, ages 4 and 3, and another baby is expected in December. They also said the property has a well that has been out of service for 30 years, which ruled out a well pump as the source of the high usage. The 1,500-square-foot century-old twin home has three bedrooms.

In the comments, the homeowner shared two photos of the digital meters. One person said that 547 kWh over two weeks did not seem especially alarming.

After more discussion, though, the poster said their rate was $0.11759 per kWh, which changed how others viewed the bill.

"Something is quite literally not adding up here," one commenter wrote.

"You used 547kWh, so at $0.118/kWh that's $65 of electricity," they added. "So you would expect a bill around $130, maybe $160 or so with base charges."

Instead, the original poster said they were being charged about $450 every 14 days.

What can be done?

An electrician recommended installing a home energy monitor to track where the electricity was going, noting that the source of the problem could be unexpected.

"I had a compressor go bad on a dehumidifier which was causing me $100 a month just for that," one person said. "It was nice having a smart device to narrow it down."

Another commenter asked whether the main breaker had been switched off to see if anything suspicious showed up on the meter. The homeowner replied, "There were two separate numbers at one point."

"2 numbers would indicate you had 2 meters being read and charged to you," another person concluded.

Meanwhile, the homeowner said they continued reaching out to the state utility commission and its representatives. One commenter also suggested having an electrician inspect the home for faulty wiring.

Where can I learn more?

Large electricity bills are sometimes linked to suspected or confirmed meter problems.

• In Texas, a renter's $300 electricity bill raised concerns about a possible meter mix-up.

• A New York homeowner's old meter charged for exports before solar approval.

• Louisiana residents said bills fell after rechecks while questioning a $255 utility charge.

• After meter trouble, a homeowner's power use more than doubled before a 26.8-kW solar quote.

• A Hawaiʻi renter's $550 electricity bill reflected two homes sharing a single electricity meter.