Duke Energy refunds Largo woman after nearly 5 years of wrong bills

LARGO, Fla. - A Largo homeowner spent nearly five years paying exorbitant power bills after Duke Energy linked her billing account to a luxury Treasure Island home by mistake. 

Shocking August utility charges

The backstory:

Janice Doll spent 57 months trying to rein in electric charges that regularly climbed into hundreds of dollars each month for her 1,500-square-foot house. Duke Energy representatives told her the meter functioned properly and insisted the issue originated inside her house. 

Desperate for relief, the retiree spent an estimated $12,000 to $15,000 replacing functional appliances. Her purchases included a new air conditioning unit, pool pump, washer, dryer, microwave and garage refrigerator. 

Doll also hired an electrician who inspected the property between six and eight times over three years without identifying an electrical defect. "We even called Duke (Energy) for an energy audit, and they came out and said everything looks great," Doll said. "Well, obviously it didn't because then we got a $600 bill the next month." 

The dispute peaked when Doll received a $970 utility statement for August, despite spending 28 of that month's 31 days out of town. 

"I, honestly, was just so distraught," Doll said, who admits she considered moving. "If we couldn’t figure this out, there’s no way we can afford a $1,000-a-month electric bill for a home (when) it shouldn’t be that." 

A Duke Energy technician inspected the residence in mid-September and discovered the serial number on Doll's paper statement failed to match the equipment installed outside. 

"He said, ‘Somehow, your meter has been mixed up with someone else's,’" Doll explained. "He goes, ‘I am looking at the Google picture of the house that you've been being billed for. It appears as if it's between 4,000 and 5,000 square foot down on Treasure Island.’" 

According to Doll, both electric meters were changed one day apart in late January 2022, prompting workers to accidentally transpose account numbers. "Our meter had been replaced on January 26, 2022. And then this home where it was interchanged with, their meter was replaced on January 27, 2022," Doll explained. "So, the only information I got from the (Duke Energy) executives was, obviously numbers were transposed at that point." 

Thousands refunded to homeowner

By the numbers:

Duke Energy sent Doll an email Oct. 1 acknowledging an overbilling balance totaling $10,939.29. 

The company stated in part: "We recently discovered that you have been billed for electric usage on a meter that does not serve your location. We regret this mistake and have made corrections to ensure that the correct meter is now registering your electric consumption." 

Doll said the utility delivered a refund payment of just under $10,000. "All the frustration and the anger and the money -- just all of it," Doll said. "And that nobody would help me in those 57 months that we have been saying there was a problem. And they wouldn't address it." 

Utility response to mix-up

The other side:

Duke Energy representatives issued an apology regarding the administrative error and explained current correction procedures. 

Duke Energy said: "We apologize for any inconvenience this error may have caused. Our customers only pay for the energy they use, so after something like this is discovered, we worked to correct it immediately. This involves assessing the energy usage for both customers during the impacted timeframe. The customer who overpaid for their actual energy usage will then receive a bill credit." 

Protecting against billing errors

What you can do:

Doll recommends that Tampa Bay residents verify their electric statements against the physical meter attached to their home. Homeowners noticing unexplained increases should confirm that serial digits match across all billing documents. 

Pinellas County