City Utilities fielding complaints over bills from previous meter failures

(Photo: CHRIS LANDSBERGER/THE OKLAHOMAN FILE)
(Photo: CHRIS LANDSBERGER/THE OKLAHOMAN FILE)

Hundreds of City Utilities customers were recently issued bills for past energy usage that went unrecorded due to faulty meters.

Unsurprisingly, several have leveled complaints at the public utility company.

CU discovered in late 2022 that more than 500 customers had either a malfunctioning gas or water meter that didn't account for usage over the past three to 16 months, an estimated $400,000 in missed revenue.

CU, which determined that 389 gas meters and 120 water meters weren't tallying usage, said it sent notices in December to affected customers, indicating they would still owe for the usage, but wouldn't be billed until March.

More:CU offering payment options after meter errors create surprise utility bills for customers

Previous usage was used to determine the bill for each respective customer, CU said, and payment plans extending up to 24 months were also offered.

Cody Cox, a Springfield resident, said he never received a notice before being surprised by an adjusted gas bill of $105 last week.

Cox called CU to ask about the additional charges and said he was told the spike in his bill was for going the summer of 2022 without gas meter recordings.

He said that his usual monthly gas bill is around $16 in the summer and that he didn't notice an overall utilities tally (of electric and gas) on previous statements that were unusual.

Cox, whose meter has since been fixed, said he has no issue paying for the gas he used, but he believes the estimate of his past usage is inaccurate.

"This gets into weights and measures, so they're selling a product when they're trying to estimate it, and there's a way to read (the meter)? That seems a little fishy," Cox sad. "How are you carrying an estimation of accounts receivable on the books at a city utility?"

Cox said if he didn't pay the bill based on CU's estimate, he was told he would be sent to collections.

Joel Alexander, a CU spokesman, said that each of these cases were thoroughly inspected when determining past usage.

Alexander said the faulty meters and the complicated billing process "is not a good thing" for the customers, but said CU is doing everything it can to remedy the situation.

"We expected (to get complaints)," Alexander said.

More:CU, City Council discuss future of Springfield's bus system, energy production

CU officials voted in December to pursue the lost earnings, but some suggested waiving the fees.

"While the market price (of natural gas) is starting to come down, it’s still much higher than in previous years," Alexander said in an email. "And we also must recover the cost for the gas that was purchased last season for storage when the prices were higher."

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: City Utilities fielding complaints over bills previous meter failures