Elderly Rancho Mirage woman “surprised” and “confused” by $5,000 SCE power bill

Just days after her husband died from heart failure two months ago, 85-year-old Rancho Mirage resident Honeya Perez came home one night to find that Southern California Edison had turned off the power at her house.

“I was totally depressed and angry, because first of all my husband just died, and then to come home and find I have no electricity,” said Perez.

Perez said she called the power company, and was told she owed the utility $5,000.

She made a payment over the phone, and power was restored.

Perez says it was few days later when she received the bill in the mail, which was actually $4,700.

Upset over the big bill, and not understanding why she got it, she called CBS Local 2.

“I was shocked, just shocked because I didn’t know we were on the grid. I thought I was off the grid,” said Perez.

After talking with Perez, and after contacting Edison on her behalf, it quickly became apparent she didn’t understand how her home was powered.

After all, it was her late husband who handled those matters, and he paid the bills.

What Perez does know is that solar panels are installed, out of sight, on top of her home.

The panels came with the house when she and her husband purchased the place last August.

Perez thought the panels supplied all the electricity needed to power her home, but they don’t.

The panels supply some of the power, and additional electricity needed to power the home comes from Edison.

Customers with this type of arrangement, like Perez, are billed for that extra electricity once a year.

That is why Perez received the bill for nearly $5,000.

“I would like them to give me my $5,000 back, then maybe I could sleep,” said Perez.

A representative for Edison tells us the bill sent to Perez is correct, and says the utility “cannot re-credit” what she has already paid.

The Edison representative also said they will speak to the 85-year-old to make sure she cleary understands her billing arrangement, and the utility would talk with Perez about bill payment options she might use in the future.

The Edison representative tells us the utility sent a crew member to Perez’s home to perform an “energy audit”.

They concluded her home is consuming “much more” than the average amount of electricity used to power homes of a similar size.