PG&E Estimates Higher Bills for Consumers

Northern California's incumebt investor-owned utility, Pacific Gas and Electric is being criticized for its habit of guestimating consumers' energy bills:

PG&E says it sends out almost 70,000 estimated bills each month -- frequently for amounts higher than actual usage would warrant -- because customers' meters are inaccessible.

But current and former insiders say the utility deliberately bypasses some neighborhoods to save itself the expense of hiring enough people to handle the workload.

State regulators worry that ratepayers are being overcharged on a routine basis. They said an investigation into PG&E's billing practices already is under way and that the utility could face significant fines or penalties.

PG&E spokesman Ron Low said that while meters in a particular neighborhood may go unread due to employee illness or traffic conditions, no policy exists to estimate customers' bills as a cost-cutting measure.

Of course, technology could solve this problem, if labor unions don't block it. For a minimal cost, meters could be programmed to send monthly usage directly to computers at the utility, thereby obviating the need for meter readers, and saving the utility even more money. Heck, with the allegations made here, customers might even be willing to pay for the new meters!