DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A DeKalb County woman says she is very upset after discovering her power meter was rigged, forcing her to unknowingly pay for her neighbors’ electricity for years.
Michelle Powell says she began receiving extremely high power bills in 2012, as soon as she bought her condo on Terrace Trail in Decatur.
“I’ve called Georgia Power so many times, I’ve called the Georgia Public Service Commission,” Powell said.
Powell says her monthly bills for her small condo ranged from $400 to nearly $2,000 a month.
“I am not going to take it anymore. I did what I had to do. I just can’t afford to pay these bills,” Powell said.
This month, Powell hired several electricians to take a look at her connections. She says that is when an electrician discovered someone had rigged her meter and used it to siphon power to other neighbors in her complex.
“No idea. I was devastated,” Powell said, adding that she was giving power to three different homes.
Georgia Power investigators are looking into the problem, but couldn’t comment specifically on her case.
“We work every day with customers to ensure that they are only charged for their actual energy use and we will continue to do so in this situation. Tampering with Georgia Power equipment in an attempt to steal or redirect power is dangerous and illegal. In partnership with law enforcement, we will actively investigate and prosecute cases of theft or vandalism,”John O’Brien, with Georgia Power Co., said in a statement.
O’Brien added that they do have investigators in touch with the condo to make sure she is taken care of and only is billed for the power she uses.
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