Check Your Utility Bills
 

We received our SECO Energy bill on 12/31/22 for $327. In looking at the usage history shown on the bill, our usage was for 1000 kilowatts more than it usually is. While I realized we had some cold days in December, I didn't think the bill would have been that much more than the previous December bill. I looked at the box that showed the amount of kilowatts that was on the meter when it was read (77,895) and thought that it was pretty high. So I went to the meter to see what the number was. It was showing 77000! So my bill had been estimated at least 895 kilowatts more than we had actually used.

So, I called SECO and spoke with a rep (Kara) and she asked me to send a photo of the meter that was date and time stamped. I immediately did so and was told that someone would be out to re-read the meter and if an adjustment was needed that the the bill would be adjusted.

I waited a week and called them back (1/9/23) to see if the meter had been re-read and if an adjustment was going to be made. I spoke with Sandy who told me yes, an adjustment had been sent to the billing department to be processed. Our bill had overestimated by 1000 kilowatt hours. We would not receive a new bill, the amount would be adjusted in system. She suggested that I call back in the afternoon to see if it had been processed.

To give them ample time to adjust the bill, I waited until the morning of 1/10/23. I spoke with Brandy and she noted that the adjustment was still being processed and call back in the afternoon to see what my new amount would be.

I called in the afternoon and spoke with Natalia who noted that the adjustment was in the billing department awaiting processing and she felt sure it would be processed by the end of the week! I expressed a great deal of concern that the due date was 1/14 and I did not want a late penalty assessed due to something out of my control. She assured me that would not happen, but I still expressed concern (human error could definitely cause it to be considered late). She noted that she would reach out the billing department and call me back.

Fifteen minutes later she did call back and let me know the adjustment had been processed and our new amount was $179.

Long story short: Our electricity bill was overestimated by $148! I spoke with 4 different people to get this resolved and finally did. Everyone I spoke with was courteous and polite, but I had to be persistent. The bill states that if it is an estimated reading that will indicate it is estimated (ours did not).

Moral of the story: go out and check your meter reading on the days that the billing period ends to check against the bill you receive. You could be paying WAY more that you should be paying just because you trust they are doing the right thing.

To clarify, if you had paid the $327 bill, wouldn't you have gotten a credit for the incorrect amount the next time the meter was read? Just asking.

You can sure tell from this post who pays the bills in the household...LOL. I agree with OP, I too would have been all over that. Thanks OP for giving us the heads up on being aware if things appear to be off kilter.

Yes, I am one of those fools who balance the checkbook to the penny and if it is off 5 cents, will hunt it down to find out why and how vs just "accepting" things.

The next bill would be offset by the next reading.

Only if they actually read it.

For SECO customers using over 1000 KWH they pay an additional 18% for per KWH ($.02 additional) than they did for their first 1000 KWH. If they wait for the next bill to correct itself and they use less than a 1000 KWH, then then will not recoup the full over charged amount. It is advantageous for them to correct the current bill.

That’s the way we handled it

correcting an over read should have taken 15 seconds once you showed proof of the reading. Up north the utility companies call it dfs and rebill. It was a live transaction in the 70's.

Villages need to make complaints to the Florida attorney generals office concerning bill errors with water meters and electric meters. It’s a phone call or online form. Complaining on these websites accomplishes nothing.

I always check behind the meter reader's

I thought they used a reading device to read meter.

That’s why your a millionaire;) Me, my time is worth more than 5cents!

They use a device, but they still come to the house to use it.

Completely corrupt industry. We do not need utility companies charging extreme amounts of money. Research Nikola Tesla wireless electrical system. Ether (electricity) is as abundant as air. No need for coal, propane oil or any other mined resources. Do the research. Tesla's wireless tower was in Long Island, NY in the early 1900's. He charged his wireless electrical car. He live in the Manhattan at the time. We have many patents with similar technology.

They were informing, not complaining.

I never tip before the meal. Get the bill straight, every time & the first time. No excuses.

Try screwing up your payment and they will be on you like white on rice.

I'm with the OP totally. Good job watching your account. I like it.

The bill did not say estimated because it was likely not estimated. It is probable that yours, like ours, was simply misread. 76,895 was written down as 77,895 resulting in the high charge. It would have been straightened out on the next bill - this bill would be high but the next would be low. Any difference in rates would be worth less than the aggravation and stress of trying to get it straightened out.

Like it or not, and I do not like it, we are in the computer age. When you call a company, often you are first greeted by a computer. Imagine the HUMAN, if you can find one. By the time you get to the HUMAN you have already been ticked of by the computer.

My CIVIL limit is NONE. Months ago I had four going at the same time. Typical we will call you back. you are supposed to carry the paperwork in the hope they will call you back?
The price of computers, we cannot live without them. The price is HUMANITY.

That's happened twice in our SECO history, they do misread them. But they do correct them. Easier to do deal with than the water company, according the horror stories.

We also noted a higher than normal bill and I think we are not the only two homes in The Villages with that happening. Very fertile ground for a class action on this. Especially since they "keep" the penalty money that was falsely charged. SECO needs to make this right and now.

Exactly - I've had this happen and just paid it knowing it was an over charge. And it all adjusted with the next meter reading. It all comes out in the wash. Unless one can't afford the temporary extra charge or just relishes spending hours on the phone with the utility company, this is one of those rare problems that always "fixes itself" ... in this case, with the next meter reading and subsequent bill.

Likely read meter 1000 kWh high which is $145. I have emailed Seco a few times asking when will they upgrade to digital meters like most other utilities have already done. They self report and are more accurate. It would save money in the long run by eliminating meter readers. FPL did this about 10 years ago. Time for Seco to come out of the 1900s.

SECO, despite its shortcomings, is much cheaper than Duke Energy. I am paying considerably more per kWh this year and the rates keep going up.

What about what I heard about Duke Energy a year back ??

They instituted a 'minimum monthly billing charge' of like $30. This impacted ONLY those with solar !!! What a way to go. Can anybody here vouch if that is still being ripped out of those customers wallets ? Did the state stop this ?

Not according to Mary Neal from Michigan in post number six, where she strongly advises that one should correct their current bill and not wait. For example, what if you use 800KWH in Jan and 800KWH in Feb but get a bill (on Feb 1) that you used 1200KWH in Jan. If you wait until the next bill to correct, it will show you used 400KWH in Feb and will bill you for that. The issue is that if you use over 1000 KWH per month you pay an additional 18% for per KWH than the first 1000KWH. The Feb bill will not make that correction, according to Ms. Neal.

She is right. In your example it would amount to $4 you would not recover. How many phone calls, how much time, and how much stress is worth that $4? In my case I decided none of it was.

I called SECO, and the person I spoke with (Megan) said that what you said is not true. She told me that your bill would be corrected and that you would recover the additional extra charge for exceeding 1000 kwh in the previous month or months.

See Post No. 27. According to SECO, you will recover the extra per kwh charges.

I agree that it is not worth pursuing. But, according to SECO, she is not right. I don't know how it works, but the SECO representative claims that the customer would recover the extra $.02 per kwh charges automatically.

The SECO representative is misinformed. I can say that based on the bills I received I did NOT recover the extra amount.

And think about it… How would SECO know that it was an incorrect reading? How would they know that I didn’t have company the previous month and used a lot of electricity then left for a month and used very little? They wouldn’t and so they would simply do the math and not correct for the additional charge. That was ok with me, the cost was not worth the aggravation of dealing with automated call centers and various processes.

You are probably correct. But they could have an algorithm that identifies obviously incorrect meter readings, and makes adjustments.

They could. It wasn't in place in September 2021.

Your observation suggests that the state should limit the amount of ESTIMATED CHARGES to be the tier threshold going to the higher rate. So if an utility won't read that month, they cannot charge for any more than 1000 kw in that cycle. That would be fair.

None of these are estimated. Do you even live here or are you just trying to demonstrate something?

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I agree totally, except, I was made aware of a reading problem that had nothing to do with the meter reader. We had a house on our street take a lightning strike to a large tree in the middle of their yard. When the meter reader came around, I asked her if there was anything odd with the readings in our area, and she said yes, several had NO readings. When I told her about the lightning strike, she said that made PERFECT sense. Seems the potential for your meter being affected by a close by strike could potentially be a player. Just FYI

Yes my bill was higher than usual, as was my neighbors, Thank you for the information!

I interpreted the poster completely differently; it struck me not like a complaint at all, but a helpful tip to all of us to check if something seems "off" and NOT fail to relentlessly following through. Perhaps it was me who missed the point.

You can say that again, and AGAIN ! Co-ops are not longer "cheap", but sure much better than the alternative. May we should ALL attend the annual meetings.... I know we USED to never miss, and became lax during the Covid years of course... time to get back to in person representation ! We have always been impressed with the speed and efficiency our power has been restored by SECO during unusual weather conditions.

Sorry sabella..accomplishes a lot.