More San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) natural gas customers are getting money back after an internal utility review.
The review happened after KPBS raised questions about a Fallbrook customer’s unusually large natural gas bill this past winter.
Jack Babbitt, a Navy vet and widower, lives alone in a mobile home just off Interstate 15 in Fallbrook. He opened a nearly $1,300 natural gas bill in January.
Babbitt reached out to his grandson, Douglas Gastélum, to see if he could explain what was going on. After calling SDG&E and being told the numbers were accurate and nothing was done, Gastélum contacted KPBS.
Babbitt’s home has an analog gas meter — which needs to be physically read by an SDG&E employee — because the mobile home community is located in a valley. Smart meters will not work here.
Babbitt’s utility bills showed several months of estimated readings that were pretty low before a meter reading in January caught up.
Problem was, January had the utility’s highest gas prices ever.
Once KPBS reached out, SDG&E reviewed and recalculated the winter bills and Babbitt got a $350 rebate.
It turns out, other SDG&E customers who cannot have smart meters were affected by a similar issue.
“We found about 100 customers within our 900,000 customers that have a gas meter. About 100 customers who don't have a radio signal back to SDG&E are in the same boat as Mr. Babbitt,” said Anthony Wagner, a communications manager at SDG&E.
Most will get small refunds.
But 10-to-20 of those customers had bills very much like Babbitt’s. They saw several months of lower estimated readings and then were walloped when their meters were read in January.
“Those customers will also receive a similar credit to Mr. Babbitt about $350 or so,” Wagner said.
SDG&E is also working to make sure the situation does not repeat itself this coming winter.
While the bills were corrected once human intervention occurred, the company plans to review the systems that make estimates when actual readings do not happen.
“We are working with the computer system to make sure that there is not an underestimate like there was earlier in the year,” Wagner said.
The news was welcomed by Babbitt’s grandson who said he was not surprised.
“I thought, he cannot be the only one in this situation,” Gastélum said. “So, when I first realized that it probably had something to do with the estimated bills, that was what I hoped would happen. So, I’m glad to hear that.”
Meanwhile, Babbitt got a home energy audit last week.
A company contracted by SDG&E offers the service to any of the utility’s customers.
The crew that inspected Babbitt’s mobile home installed some insulation around the hot water heating system.
“They did a test on the duct work,” Gastélum said. “And I think they identified some additional places where they made little fixes on the ducting.”
Those two things should trim natural gas consumption and help lower Babbitt’s bill this coming winter.
