HOUSTON – A west Houston man says he’s been paying for someone else’s electricity for years — and now he wants answers and his money back.
Peter Yang, a recently retired resident who says he’s always looking to save a buck, noticed something was off last month when he switched electricity providers to try to lower his bill.
“The electric bill is very high usually, so I need to get it lower,” Yang said. “My bill is still coming in very high. That’s why I had to see my meter physically — and then I found out that there was a total mismatch on my monthly statement.”
The meter number on his bill didn’t match the number on the actual meter at his home. Yang says he filed a complaint with the Public Utility Commission of Texas, known as the PUC, and CenterPoint has since swapped out the meter. But for Yang, the meter swap is just the beginning.
“I want to make sure my meter and my monthly bill is matching — that’s the first thing,” Yang said. “And the second thing is I paid somebody else’s bill for almost 15 to 20 years. I want my money back.”
Yang says he did receive a call from CenterPoint indicating he is owed a credit — but the exact amount remains unclear.
“I got a call from CenterPoint. They said I am the guy who overpaid. I got a credit,” Yang said. “But they haven’t been able to tell me how much.”
To find out, Yang says he now has to contact the three electricity providers he’s had over the years to piece together more than a decade’s worth of billing records — no easy task.
KPRC 2 reached out to CenterPoint Energy for comment. In a statement, the company said:
“Every day, our highest priority is providing the safe, reliable and affordable electric service our customers expect and deserve. When concerns are brought to our attention, we take them seriously and work to resolve them as quickly as possible. As soon as we learned about this issue, we immediately took action to resolve it and are in contact with the customer to work together on a solution. We apologize for the inconvenience this issue has caused and remain committed to working with the customer until it is fully resolved. Finally, we encourage any customer experiencing an issue to reach out directly to the CenterPoint Energy team.”
Yang’s situation raises a broader question — could others be dealing with similar meter issues without even knowing it?
The PUC says If something looks off, here’s what to do:
First, contact your electricity provider directly and try to resolve the issue. If that doesn’t work, file an informal complaint with the PUC. Common reasons include a bill that seems incorrect, a possible meter problem or concerns about a service contract. If the issue still isn’t resolved, the next step is to file a formal complaint. The PUC will send it to the company, and the utility has 15 days to investigate and respond. An investigator then reviews the response, and the PUC sends both the customer and the company a letter with the resolution.
For Yang, the process is far from over. But he hopes his experience serves as a warning to others.
Customers who believe they may have a meter issue can reach out to the PUC at puc.texas.gov.