California Man Discovered He’s Been Paying the Wrong Utility Bill For 18 Years

A Vacaville resident, Ken Wilson, recently uncovered a costly mistake—he's been paying his neighbor's electric bill for nearly two decades. The error was brought to light after Wilson noticed unusually high utility charges, prompting him to investigate his own energy consumption.

California Man Discovers He’s Been Paying Neighbor's Electric Bill for 18 Years

Wilson, who has lived in his apartment since 2006, became suspicious after seeing consistently high bills, despite his efforts to conserve energy. He even purchased a device to track the wattage used by his appliances.

“I’ve been trying to cut back on electricity, but the bills kept climbing,” Wilson said. “I started checking the meter myself, but things just didn’t add up.”

Contacting A Technician

Concerned something was wrong, Wilson contacted Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), who sent a technician to investigate. Last Tuesday, the worker discovered that Wilson’s apartment, Unit 90, had been linked to the wrong electric meter, meaning he had been paying for the electricity used by Unit 91.

Wilson, who lives alone, believes the billing error could have been happening for the entire 18 years he’s lived in the apartment. “I couldn’t believe it when they told me,” he said. “I’ve been overpaying this whole time, and I feel like I’ve lost control over my own energy usage.”

Is The Company Going To Fix The Problem?

PG&E confirmed the mistake in a statement, apologizing for the mix-up and stating that preliminary investigations suggest the wrong meter has been billed since at least 2009. The company is working to correct the issue but informed Wilson that the billing adjustment may not be resolved until the next cycle.

“I just hope my story helps other people check their own bills,” Wilson said. “I can't be the only one this has happened to.”