by Marissa Borja, KUAM News Monday, June 19, 2006 E-mail this article Printable version KUAM Toolbar Web Widgets Get RSS headlines

KUAM Video requires Flash 8. download it Here.

Imagine paying a $15 power bill every month. And then one day your statement comes in, and instead of expecting to see the usual amount due, you're slapped with a fee of over $1,700. For me, this was actually the case.

My husband and I diligently pay our power bills. This past February we owed about $6 (because we make it a practice to overpay), and then in March, we had a credit of about $32, with April seeing our account credited another $18. You're probably wondering at this point how we're able to manage paying for power at such a cheap rate. The answer is simple: we are new homeowners who have yet to make the transition into our permanent pad. Empty rooms, power switches are off, the main power line is off, windows are lined with plastic because renovations are ongoing and the meter's at a standstill. The only time we do power up the house is to occasionally turn on a light.

Now even though my family hasn't even moved in, why use any power at all - right? Yet, we were billed over $1,700 by the Guam Power Authority just for this past billing month, clearly there's something wrong with this picture. Imagine our surprise when we were suddenly slapped with a power bill for $1,755.34 for the month of May. Recognizing that the price of oil is on the rise, there's no way it would have this type of affect on us. We agreed that the bill was ridiculous and immediately took steps to find out what went wrong.

Now understand that I often cover issues like this as part of my job, but this time I was the victim. My first instinct was to call GPA spokesman Art Perez, who was receptive to my concerns. He explained the normal process by which calls such as mine are handled, saying, "Each inquiry is dealt with on a case by case basis although there is a process that we do follow, if there are any factors that are potentially involved...we want to make sure we can narrow down those factors and present the customer with an accurate bill because we don't want any customer paying more for what they're consuming or we want to make sure that they're being accurately billed for."

The first step he said was to take the account in through customer services, which is what any customer can do. Then, depending on the inquiry it varies. If the meter is inaccessible or if there's a problem with the meter being read, a field investigation will commence. "In this case we will conduct a field investigation just to verify the reading and at that point we'll go on to the next step," Perez said.

For those concerned about any discrepancies in their bill, Perez mentions that the average 1,000 kilowatt consumption with the most recent application of the Levelized Energy Adjustment Clause rate will reflect approximately is 6% - less or more will change which is set by the Public Utilities Commission. An increase in consumption would be the obvious contributing factor to a spike in my own power bill, but seeing that I'm not even using the power, I asked Perez what else could possibly be the problem: He responded by telling me, "In your case, if nobody's there at the home it could be a billing error...or it could be a meter reading error. In some cases where customers are back-billed because their meters were estimated or it could be due to an inaccessible meter."

Whatever happens, and my plight certainly isn't unique, GPA has assured me that they're committed to straightening out the situation. However if you notice any inconsistencies in your bill, we suggest that you look carefully at those numbers because there are other problems that I discovered, problems that you may not notice if you're the type who doesn't have time to scrutinize your bills.

It could end up saving you some cash in the end, which is exactly what I suspect will happen to me once the investigation is completed