Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
ETNA GREEN - Questioning electric bills backfired on an Etna Green business that believed it was being overcharged.
An investigation into the alleged overbilling led town officials to learn that the Etna Elevator was actually being undercharged for its electric use since 1990.
"The town didn't overcharge them, the town undercharged them," clerk-treasurer Laura Baker said at Tuesday's council meeting. "They've been getting free electric for six years ... they made out like a bandit."
Baker said refiguring the elevator's utility bills for 1996 revealed the business was charged about $2,800 less than it should have been.
The Etna Elevator is one of three businesses in town that has a three-phase meter and therefore is classified a "large power customer." Schult Homes and the Express Station are the others in that classification.
Town officials are unsure why, but the Etna Elevator began being billed as "general service" rather than "large power" sometime around 1990. Minutes from council meetings reveal a request from the owner to change the billing because he couldn't afford the high electric bills. However, no records reflect a decision was ever made.
According to the town's utility ordinance, all large power customers must be charged cumulative demand, and Baker said the State Board of Accounts told her a decision must be made immediately as to how to charge the business in the future.
If the town opted to continue billing erroneously to allow for lower electric bills, then the other large power customers would be entitled to the same reduced rates. That would require rewriting the utility ordinance and would result in a loss of revenue for the town.
"In my opinion, we just need to move them to large power where they should have been in the first place," said council president Andy Cook.
Council member Keith Robbins concurred: "We should do what's right, and that's right."
The council voted unanimously to charge the elevator as a large power customer per town ordinance. Baker said today, though, that some confusion does exist as to what qualifies a customer for "large power" and the matter will continue to be investigated.
