your State Public Service Commission and the office of Attorney General.

and if the state doesn't have one, try a consumer complaint at the Attorney General's office.

Something is very wrong somewhere and they need to fix it.

cannot believe they can treat people this way.

Monday a.m. and an electrician. Just so ridiculous. They are rude when she tries to resolve it with their office. I am so frustrated.

Thanks!

- and nothing I did helped. Checked appliances, etc. This went on for 4 months and each month it was getting higher. Finally checked the actual plumbing under the house and there was a pinhole leak in the line going from the hot water heater and I was leaking hot water 24/7. Got that fixed, bill was cut in half.

Can't speak about her not being able to get an itemized bill as I can pull that down online with my company. But I'd keep looking for any reason that may cause such horrific bills. Might be something she's not checked out yet.

She can't get an online bill to check, they keep telling her she already does! It's insane!

Glad you found your problem!

If you find out what the problem is and have it fixed, often the company involved will give you a credit for excess usage if you show them a receipt showing you had things fixed and/or replaced to solve the problem.

I never knew this until a plumber I recently hired told me! Better late than never eh?

I hope this helps!

Like plugging in an extension cord at her place outside and running it to theirs to heat their house, etc?

is on. I am baffled, am going to hire an electrician Monday a.m.

Experience and expertise can vary widely in some places, so what one can't find, another might. Hope you find an answer first go around.

but would they be able to help find where to go? Or would your state rep's office have answers as to where you can go for help.

If I remember correctly, there was some program with the power companies where you could have someone come to your house and determine what you can do to cut bills. They were just there to make suggestions, not sell products or services. Ask the coop if they have any such program to help her.

Those monthly bills seems so outrageous that I cannot believe someone doesn't think there is a problem.

with rural coops.

I'm getting an electrician and calling Kane's office first thing Monday.

As such, she should, by law, have access to all REC records, including her bill. Tell her to go into the REC office and be forceful about the matter, demand to see her records, quote the bylaws, etc. If that fails, a note from a lawyer should do the trick.

She's been there and they always say nothing is available, comp down, etc... Something smells very bad to me.

Thanks!

And demand answers in a public forum. The REC hates when they get called out in front of the public.

She has a right to those records.

There is a national REC board of some sort that she could report this to, but in the meantime, since all else has failed, get that attorney to write a sternly worded letter. It is amazing how people will start jumping when an attorney writes them. Good luck.

On edit, if they've put in one of those new smart meters, it could very well be the problem right there.

They have a country/state member list

http://www.nreca.coop/Pages/default.aspx

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association


You might try them for advice ? http://www.nreca.coop/about/contact/Pages/default.aspx

Have you tried shutting EVERYTHING off (unplug) and checking the meter? Does it still run?

Check for meter movement.

Unplug devices if still movement

If meter still moves start shutting off individual breakers or fuses.

The goal is to isolate the draw.

Years ago we discovered our rural provider was using billing software to "guestimate" the usage based of prior readings. They stopped reading meters to "cut costs".

If your company refuses to supply actual meter readings that show your usage, I'd suspect they are trying to cover up something on their end.

Hope you get it resolved.

I'm sure daughter is not diligent reading and reporting the meter reading, but it has gone beyond ridiculous.

Thanks procon!

This is nuts.

In the end they recommended shutting off or unplugging every appliance in the entire house. Once I verified the meter was not moving I had a baseline and could turn things on again one by one, hopefully finding the culprit. In my case it turned out to be a floor heating system.

If she has not tried this approach yet it might be worth a crack. Good luck.

Thanks pa28!