HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — After suspecting that she had been paying for her neighbor’s electric usage since 2021, an Xcel Energy customer in Highlands Ranch will receive a refund for two years’ worth of overpayments.
Johanna Benink tried for a year and a half to get Xcel to believe her and fix the problem.
Xcel told her that, since it's likely a problem on the customer side of the Smart Meter, it would be an issue she would need to resolve with an electrician.
If it is from a powerline to the Smart Meter, that would be Xcel’s issue. From the meter into the home, that is supposed to be the customer’s issue.
On two occasions, Benink went on a months-long cruise and came back home to an Xcel electricity bill larger than when she was at home.
After Next with Kyle Clark highlighted her unresolved issue, a neighbor, who also happens to be a licensed electrician, checked it out.
“He did it pro bono," Benink said. "So that was very sweet because I thought it was going to cost me some money, again, more money than what I've already put into the thing for the past almost three years."
Her neighbor confirmed that the tag next to her meter, showing that it was connected to her unit, was incorrect and needed to be swapped with the meter below hers.
“It's very rewarding because there were so many times that I felt nobody was listening and giving me a line of BS just to get me off the phone,” Benink said.
To solve the problem, the tags were swapped and Xcel reassigned the correct meter number to her bill and her neighbor’s bill.
“She said that they will pay me back, reimburse me two years’ worth, so 24 months. And as of right now, I'm waiting to see how much that costs,” Benink said.
The Public Utilities Commission, which regulates Xcel, has a rule that a utility must reimburse for overbilling, but only for up to two years. If someone is underbilled, like Benink’s neighbor, it is allowable for Xcel to charge for six months’ worth of underbilling.
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