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Following WBRZ report, Entergy and DEMCO acknowledge $10K bills are a mistake

2 years 3 months 1 week ago Tuesday, December 07 2021 Dec 7, 2021 December 07, 2021 7:49 PM December 07, 2021 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - Nothing could have prepared Alexas Limbaugh for the moment she saw her November DEMCO bill, totaling $10,874.

“I log in, and as soon as I saw it, my heart dropped. I was like, there’s no way," Limbaugh said.

Limbaugh lives in a household with three others and says there is no way she has used that amount of electricity in the past month.

“The only time I turn on my air is when I’m home or my heat. I like hot baths, but that shouldn’t raise it to $10,000," Limbaugh said.

Her usual bill is around $160 each month, leading her to believe the only possible explanation is a mistake on DEMCO's part. According to Limbaugh, DEMCO meter readers are supposed to document a photo of each meter.

When she called the electric company about the bill, they told her a picture was not on file.

“She came back and was like, well, a picture was not submitted, so I do not know what the problem is or how to fix it," Limbaugh recounted.

Germaine Hay, an Entergy customer, is facing the same problem this month. Her bill was $10,954 for November.

“I called Entergy, and they were like, wow. They never seen a bill like that before," Hay said.

Hay just moved into her new home a month ago and swears she did not use that much electricity in such a short time. Entergy read her meter in person on Friday and told her the amount is correct.

"I called the supervisor, she said the bill is correct. I said there’s no way. That’s very much impossible. I cannot accept it, and I will not accept it," Hay said.

The company suggested Hay might have a gas leak in her home, but she insisted she did not smell any gas. She was told the gas portion of her bill was nearly $8,000, which did not make sense to her.

“She said the gas part is almost $8,000. I said, so you’re telling me the electric is $2,000?" Hay questioned

Entergy spokesperson David Freese said the error is under investigation, and likely can be attributed to an inaccurate estimation. Hay's bill was adjusted to just $200 on Tuesday, and she now has until the end of December to pay. 

On Tuesday, DEMCO also responded to inquiries from WBRZ, stating the error on Limbaugh's bill was from a faulty smart meter which will be replaced. 

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