Couple who paid cable company's electric bill for 22 years gets $25,000 in reimbursements

For 22 years, Elaine Nied paid the electric bill for a meter mounted on a utility pole about 100 feet from her home on Church Road, just south of Winterstown.

She had been told, when she would inquire about it, that the meter measured the electricity consumed by the addition to their Cape Cod-style home, a garage with living space above it attached to the house that had been added by the previous owners.

It continued to bother her since it seemed unlikely that the addition, which her husband used as his office, would require so much power.

This year, she pressed the issue and, long story short, learned that the meter was providing power to an inline amplifier for Armstrong Cable, a family-owned business headquartered in Butler County that provides TV and internet service in that corner of the county. When Met-Ed disconnected the meter – to see what would happen – residents in the area lost cable and internet service.

She sought reimbursement, and after the York Daily Record published a story about her plight, a representative of Armstrong came to her house, apologized for the mix-up and handed her a check for $21,308.30 − reimbursement for her payments plus interest, which she had not asked for.

Nied credited the newspaper’s story for resolving, for the most part, the problem.

“Armstrong went beyond what they needed to do,” Nied said. “I was greatly surprised.”

Previously: Customer service hell: Couple charged for cable company's electric bill. For 22 years.

She has also received $4,031 from Met-Ed to reimburse her for payments that were made before Armstrong bought the cable system from another company.

“It’s essentially over,” she said.

But it really isn’t. She is still awaiting an explanation from Met-Ed about how it happened that she was billed for an electric meter that wasn’t even on her property.

“I would like an explanation from Met-Ed about how it happened and why it happened,” she said.

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She hasn’t received one, despite repeated attempts.

Met-Ed declined to address her questions since the issue remains an active formal complaint before the state Public Utility Commission. Spokesman Todd Meyers said, “As with any legal proceeding, once an issue is elevated to the level of a complaint to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, I cannot provide specific comment.”

Armstrong did not respond to a request for comment.

Columnist/reporter Mike Argento has been a York Daily Record staffer since 1982. Reach him at mike@ydr.com.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Pa. couple who paid cable company's electric bill for 22 years wins