Shady practices used by the electric company

   The electric companies have quite the history of shady practices. I don’t even know how far down this rabbit hole goes.

Identify the shady behavior

The first thing that comes to mind is outdated and malfunctioning meters. These issues cause higher meter readings and that will cost you, the consumer more money every month. That alone isn’t what makes it shady. What makes it shady is when they are aware of the malfunction and refuse to fix or replace the meter.

over charging consumers

   They know they are charging you too much but they won’t correct it because it doesn’t benefit them. When you begin to fight back, that’s when these greedy companies want to “investigate.” When your bill is much lower than it was in previous months they may send someone out to check the meter for signs of tampering (which by the way is illegal so DO NOT tamper with the meter.) The utility companies will only investigate when it negatively impacts their bottom line.

Error or outright lie?

The second thing that comes to mind is when the electric company claims they haven’t received a payment in months. They shut off a customer’s service, refusing to reconnect the customer’s service even after submitting proof of multiple payments. They demand a large payment and charge the customer a reconnection fee. The electric company will never admit they made a mistake and return the amount that that was over paid. I have personal experience with this behavior.

Corporate greed and personal experience

They shut off my service on my birthday which ruined my plans. I called to find out why and they claimed to have not received a payment in months. I submitted proof of multiple payments that were made. They still refused to restore my service with out a payment. I had to schedule an appointment with a local community resource office to get service restored. I then cancelled that appointment.

Equipment maintenance

 The third thing that comes to mind is failure to maintain equipment. When utility companies fail to maintain their equipment it can cause power surges. Power surges run up your electric bill and can damage your electronics and your electrical outlets. Improperly maintained equipment can also lead to frequent power outages and more power surges when service is restored.

Are the electric companies doing this on purpose? 

 Yes and no. While they may not directly intend to cause power surges, their refusal to fix and update equipment is deliberate. They know it causes power surges, they know it costs you, the consumer more money. They don’t want to hurt their record profits so they instead choose to ignore their responsibilities.

Inflation is not the only cause of higher bills

These are just a few of the shady things the electric company is pulling. All too often the consumer sees the effects of these shady practices and they blame inflation and rising costs of pretty much everything. They conclude that it makes sense that their utility bills would be much higher too until their service is shut off when it shouldn’t be and then the consumer starts doing some digging. That digging is probably what brought you here, or you were looking for cost effective ways to combat your high energy bills. No matter what the reason you landed here this blog can help you cut your energy costs down.

Solution

Get solar powered generators and power banks to provide electricity until service is restored. You could potentially provide your own electricity full time and leave service off. If you do owe your utility company money make an appointment with your local resource office and keep that appointment.

Leave a comment below, share your experience with these greedy companies and read my next post to learn the secret utility companies don’t want you to know.