![]() ![]() A total of 3, 542, 787 residential customer accounts, 395, 910 commercial customers, one transportation customer account and 12, 150 industrial customers purchase their electricity from the company. Additionally, this coverage area includes 1592 cities within these states. “This helped us not only replace older meters with the smart meters, but also combat the issue of prolong estimated bills since the smart meters provide automated readings,” Siburkis said.First Energy is a retail power marketer operating in 8 different states throughout the US. PUCO has not yet approved the application but FirstEnergy expects the commission to lift all remaining COVID restrictions in the not so distant future, Siburkis said.Īdditionally, FirstEnergy has embarked on a pilot program to replace older indoor meters with automated “smart” meters that can provide an actual reading without a physical inspection. Depending on the date the actual reading is received, the new bill may cover more than 30 days,” Siburkis said.įirstEnergy also recently submitted an application with PUCO to resume indoor meter readings. ![]() “Once we receive and validate the meter reading, we will cancel any estimated bills and rebill the account using the actual meter reading provided. Those photos can be used to adjust their bill so that any additional cost will be known ahead of time. Additionally, if a customer lives in an apartment building and has been receiving estimated bills over a prolonged period of time, they are encouraged to work with their property manager to locate the meter in order to snap a photo of their actual reading. Siburkis said customers that receive estimated bills have the option of submitting a meter reading by going into their online account. I was wanting to go back-to-school shopping.” “With over $200 to the electric company, that’s clothes for my kids. We’re going to be doing nothing but staying at home,” White said. “Tomorrow is my 20th wedding anniversary. Although customers have the option to set up a payment plan to spread out the cost over several bills, White opted to pay the lump sum. White said she called FirstEnergy’s customer service and an agent told her that her electric usage has been estimated over the past 14 months. “I saw the amount and I thought 'there’s no way that’s correct.' I went back to my email to look at the actual bill and it said $232.66.” “I thought, ‘this ain’t my bill,” White said. When she received her electric bill earlier this month, it was nearly five times higher than the previous month, jumping from just over $48 to more than $232. That is precisely what happened to Virginia White of Willoughby. When an estimated reading has been used and an actual meter reading is not obtained, there is usually some adjustment required, either because the previously billed estimate was too high or too low.” “Estimated bills are often calculated using elements from the same period last year. “They are not being 'overcharged' for electricity they are simply receiving a larger bill to make up for usage they were not billed for during the months they received the lower estimated readings,” said FirstEnergy spokesperson Lauren Siburkis via email. In many cases, that resulted in customers being undercharged for their electric usage. Since then, utilities have had to estimate each customer’s usage every month. Many utilities, including FirstEnergy, suspended any readings of indoor meters, which are common place at many multi-family housing complexes and apartment buildings. In some cases, customers received bills that were four or five times higher than the previous month.Īt the onset of the pandemic, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) required utilities to suspend any physical meter readings or any other activity that could potentially spread the coronavirus. CLEVELAND - FirstEnergy customers with indoor electric meters may have received an unexpected jolt from their recent monthly bill as the utility company began reconciling estimated usage with actual usage over the span of the pandemic. ![]()
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