MEMPHIS, Tenn — MLGW customers are confused by multiple expensive bills that do not seem to add up to how much they owe the utility company.
Memphis Light Gas and Water told customers on August 21 it is in the process of sending out bills that had been delayed due to failures by meter registers.
They said customers should expect to receive multiple bills in a short period of time after some utility customers had not received a bill in months due to the issues.
But several customers said these bills aren’t adding up.
ABC24 spoke with customers who are confused over why they are seeing MLGW bills with high numbers, many adding up to over $1,000.
“Time did not go by where we didn’t receive a bill,” MLGW customer Terry Webb said. “Because you can see this bill was in August, and it was $362 paid in August and there were no bills missed.”
Webb said he has not missed a payment during 2023, but still received two MLGW bills for September, one for $710 another for $1,047.
He took the bills to the MLGW office downtown but said he still couldn’t get a straight answer on how much he owes.
“She was telling me, ‘See, you just don’t understand how our system works,’” Webb said. “I said, ‘I understand this $700. What I don’t understand is this $1,047.’”
MLGW said the latest bill should show the total amount owed for all the missed months, minus any payments received.
Even when the math does add up, it leaves some customers with a large lump sum. MLGW provided us with the following statement:
“We have options. Customers who need extra time to pay can make arrangements via the My Account app, calling 901-544-6549, or visiting one of our Community Offices.”
Webb said MLGW is putting customers through too much for a problem resulting from their meters.
“I thought that was the reason they got all these smart meters,” he said. “The meters must be dumb.”
MLGW said the payments are based on estimates of previous utility use.
“You want to try and blame the customer for the system problem, and put the charge to the customer,” Webb says.
MLGW hopes to complete the delayed billing work by January 2024. The utility company plans to make permanent repairs to the about 38,000 affected meter registers by December 2024.
