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Mad and frustrated was a common reaction from hundreds of Questar customers surprised by an unexpectedly huge bill. So who will pay for the company's mistake? The fight goes on.
A Questar billing mistake led it to accidentally undercharge, by hundreds of dollars a month, about 500 of its customers. But the natural gas utility still wants consumers to pay back the roughly $1 million.
For months, the various sides in this saga have wrestled with the question of who should pay for this mistake. When Nancy Mitchell opened up her December '07 Questar gas bill, the reaction was, "How much!?!" It was $2,176.
That number was roughly 10 times more than her normal monthly bill. It turns out, thanks to a problem with meter reading transmitters, she and roughly 500 other Questar customers had been undercharged about half of what they were using for two years.
The question now is who should cover the tab?
A Questar spokesperson said, "Well, we know we made [the mistake] in the sense of we improperly installed transponders on these meters. That's what we discovered. And as soon as we discovered it, we let customers know about it." But Questar insists customers should pay for it because they did use the gas.
The Division of Public Utilities recommends Questar only be allowed to back-bill customers for six months, instead of two years.
In the meantime, the state's utility consumer watchdog says it's preparing its own recommendation. Michele Beck, director of the Committee of Consumer Services, said, "We want to make sure it's fair for both sides because you've got those individuals who have been back-billed and potentially unfairly so. But in the meantime, all other consumers have made up for those costs."
If Questar's 800,000 customers were to collectively to cover those costs, it would be about 70 cents per customer. An estimated $621,000 would be collected, and the company would be out only $98,000. One consumer we talked to says it's Questar's mistake and the company alone should pay. "I don't think all the consumers, either, should cover that cost. The company makes a profit, the CEO, the managers are all paid bonuses. It should come out of those pockets because they're the ones who are responsible for the mismanagement."
We can expect a recommendation soon from the Committee of Consumer Services about who should pay. Then the Public Services Commission, the final decision maker, is expected to hold hearings, tentatively in October.
The Public Service Commission has told Questar to hold off on trying to collect until the matter is decided.
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
E-mail: jdaley@ksl.com
