Meter mishap causes North Myrtle Beach man to pay neighbor’s electric bill

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - A North Myrtle Beach man was left with an over $1,000 utility bill after a mishap with his electricity meter, now he’s warning others to stay alert.

North Myrtle Beach resident, Byron Fowler, said he had duct work done on his home just in December. He said he was curious to know how much his electricity bill was going to cost so he made a call to Santee Cooper.

He was told his bill was only $26, something he said just didn’t add up. When he inquired further about the cost, that’s when Fowler said he was told his smart meter didn’t match the number on his electricity bill.

“So evidently, for the past three and half years, 42 months, my neighbors had been paying for my bill and I had been paying for their bill,” he said.

Santee Cooper said Fowler’s situation is possible, but it’s not very common. They said it’s more likely to happen in multi-family home neighborhoods than single-family homes.

Fowler said out of those 42 months, he only got refunded for four of those months and still had to pay for his actual electricity usage totaling over $1,000.

Although Fowler’s meter mix-up is now fixed he worries this could happen to anyone else.

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