Medford, Ore. — In the midst of winter, some Pacific Power customers are reporting bills nearly twice their average amount. Even after efforts to conserve energy and days with no power at all due to weather, some are paying hundreds more than normal.
It leaves some customers asking, why so high?
Jessica Wynant lives in a 1,700 square-foot home in Medford.
Her job keeps her busy and out of the house, which is why opening up a power bill nearly twice as expensive than the last just didn’t make sense.
“Shock. I knew that I would have a high bill because we’ve always received high bills in December and January. January, particularly,” Wynant said.
But none this high. Wynant’s bill this month is nearly $190, while her bill the last month was just under $90.
“Very surprised to see close to a 50% increase in the cost,” said Wynant
She wasn’t the only one in the neighborhood experiencing a bill hike.
“Ours now is $300,” said Chad LaFlame, a homeowner neighboring Wynant.
LaFlame’s family is used to dropping around $150 this time of year.
The added cost was a surprise.
“You can’t budget for that, it’s crazy,” LaFlame said.
Now, the neighbors are left with plenty of questions and few answers.
“You really can’t get very far when you call the company, they’re very justified in explaining their expenses,” Wynant said.
We called pacific power today to see why bills were so much higher this month than previously. The company said a lot of it was simply the weather.
“We had colder than usual temperatures for this time of year. We had people that were at home, using more electricity because they were not able to navigate through their normal routine,” said Christina Kruger, Regional Business Manager for Pacific Power.
But that still leaves customers confused.
“Very conservative with the amount of energy that I use and I work a lot of hours so I’m not home very often,” Wynant said.
“We always try to turn lights off or turn the heater down when we’re not home,” LaFlame said.
It’s an unfortunate bill to pay that some are just trying to accept.
“When you’re a member of a community and you’re working with an organization and they have a monopoly over the area, we really don’t have an option unless we fully convert to, solar for example,” Wynant said.
“Guess, we have to cut something or you know, just make it happen, always do,” LaFlame said.
Pacific Power says if you’re still confused in regards to your most recent bill, you can contact Pacific Power directly. It says a representative will walk you through the different charges and you can even request for a re-read of your meter.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.