MERCER, Pa. (WKBN) – A Mercer County couple’s years-long battle with PennPower and how they say their smart meter racked up thousands of dollars in bills has come to an end.
Brett and Donna Schroyer have come to an agreement with the utility following a hearing earlier this month. The terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, but the issue has been settled, according to a certificate of agreement filed with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
The Schroyers brought their case before the Pennsylvania PUC after negotiations with PennPower were not successful. They say their usage and utility bills skyrocketed following the installation of a smart meter. After a couple of years, the Schroyers convinced PennPower to change it out.
After that meter was changed out, the Schroyers said their bills went down — substantially. However, the Schroyers said PennPower told them they tested that old smart meter in a lab and it worked as designed and did not have any malfunctions.
Was it the meter, the Schroyers’ usage or some other reason there were spikes in the bill? That answer is not clear, but the couple was battling PennPower over what amounted to about a $10,000 bill, racked up over several years.
The Schroyers said during our initial report that their advice to all utility customers is to pay attention to your usage not just the amount of the bill. Know that usage and create a baseline so that when the bill changes, you have a better understanding as to why.
Utility companies can provide this information to you, and they keep records of usage over long periods of time.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that the average U.S. household usage is between 800 and 1,000 kilowatts per month or about 10,791 per year. Many factors can impact the cost of your bill such as the provider you choose, seasons, and any additional or extra usage from new or malfunctioning appliances.
The best thing to do is keep track of your bill and begin investigating right away when something doesn’t seem right.
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