A decimal point was accidentally moved, causing the massive total on her bill.
A Pennsylvania woman was more than shocked as a recent electric bill informed her that she owed more than $284 billion to the local power authority.
Mary Horomanski , 58, of Erie, Pa., told her local paper, The Erie Times-News, that her eyes “just about popped out of my head” as she viewed her bill online.
“We had put up Christmas lights and I wondered if we had put them up wrong,” she added.
The bill even stated that she didn’t have to pay the full amount until November 2018, however, $28,156 was still due for December 2017. A flabbergasted Horomanski reached out to her son, who contacted the power authority Penelec, which determined that an error had been made.
Parent company First Energy said a decimal point was accidentally moved, and the billion-dollar statement was corrected to $284.46.
Mark Durbin, a spokesman FirstEnergy, told The Erie Times-News he doesn’t know how the error occurred and that it was an accident. He was also happy the family reached out to alert the company.
“I can’t recall ever seeing a bill for billions of dollars,” Durbin added. “We appreciate the customer’s willingness to reach out to us about the mistake.”
As a result of the jolting bill, Horomanski asked her son for a different Christmas gift this year — a heart monitor.
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